The transformation of Central Asia : states and societies from Soviet rule to independence / edited by Pauline Jones Luong.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Politics in the periphery: competing views of Central Asian states and societies / Pauline Jones Luong -- The retreat of the state: women and the social sphere. Between women and the state: Mahalla committees and social welfare in Uzbekistan / Marianne Kamp -- Women, marriage, and the nation-state: the rise of nonconsensual bride kidnapping in post-Soviet Kazakhstan / Cynthia Werner -- Linking state and society: culture and language. Cultural elites in Uzbekistan: ideological production and the state / Laura Adams -- A shrinking reach of the state? language policy and implementation in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan / Bhavna Dave -- The state against itself: central-regional relations. The limits of centralization: regional challenges in Uzbekistan / Alisher Ilkhamov -- Economic "decentralization" in Kazakhstan: causes and consequences / Pauline Jones Luong -- Redefining the state: internal and external forces. The civic realm in Kyrgyzstan: Soviet economic legacies and activists' expectations / kelly McMann. Beyond the state: transnational actors, NGOs, and environmental protection in Central Asia / Erika Weinthal -- Conclusion: Central Asia's contribution to theories of the state / Pauline Jones Luong.