On 9th of December 2015 (15.30, room # 214) Law Department of IAAU will organize guest 

lecturer and invite a Western scholar - Philipp Lottholz (PhD candidate at the University of 

Birmingham). The theme of his Presentation will be: 

 “From the “Imaginary west” to national ownership: International statebuilding in Kyrgyzstan”.  

       We would like to invite Professors and students to participate in this event! 

           If you have any questions please contact Zhyldyz Tegizbekova

   PPT Structure for International Ataturk-Alatoo University;  December  9, 2015

            “From the “Imaginary west” to national ownership:

        International statebuilding in Preliminary title: Kyrgyzstan” 

Philipp Lottholz is a PhD candidate at the University of Birmingham and currently a Visiting Scholar at 

the Central Asian Studies Institute, American University of Central Asia. He conducted research on 

state-society relations and post-conflict reconstruction in Kyrgyzstan and received his MSc degree at 

the International Development Department in Birmingham in 2012. His current doctoral research 

inquires statebuilding processes in Kyrgyzstan under the title "Statebuilding in Central Asia - Moving 

towards a post-liberal model? Inquiring local agency in Kyrgyzstan". His research interests include 

peace and conflict studies, political sociology, international political economy, and post-Socialist/post-

Soviet studies. He is also a Teaching Associate for the Department of Politics and International 

Studies (POLSIS) and International Development Department (IDD) at Birmingham.  

Abstract 

This presentation will provide an overview on practices of statebuilding, community 

security and political reform in Kyrgyzstan. Critical perspectives on International 

Relations, political science and international law will be linked in this discussion of 

specific empirical research, which is part of the researcher’s doctoral dissertation. The 

main argument is that such processes, both in practice and in (political) discourse 

operate with different imaginaries, through which certain decisions and directions are 

shaped. Special attention will be paid to the “imaginary West”, which is rooted in 

Kyrgyzstan’s Soviet legacy and appears to structure the country’s institutional, political 

and social development. It will be argued that different actors use this imaginary to 

either argue for certain reforms and practices or against them – or in order to reject 

them as unviable. Further imaginaries that are (partially) constructed in contradicting 

relation to the “imaginary West” are discussed with a special focus on the idea of Kyrgyz 

national ownership and the way this idea shapes cooperation with and opposition to 

statebuilding and institutional reform projects supported by foreign donors. In 

conclusion, entry points into critical academic inquiry of Kyrgyzstan’s national 

development will be indicated. 

Outline 

I What is statebuilding (in Kyrgyzstan)? 

II “Imaginary West” and the semantics of international statebuilding 

II.1 “The elsewhere of late Socialism” (Yurchak) 

II.2 Imagining “the West” in today’s Kyrgyzstan  

II.3 The “liberal peace” – international intervention and Western hegemony  

III From the “Imaginary West” to national ownership: Imaginaries of statebuilding 

and security practices in Kyrgyzstan  

III.1 Statebuilding, community security and institutional reform in Kyrgyzstan  

III.2 “Imaginary West” 

III.3 National ownership  

III.4 Tradition 

IV Why is all of this important?  

IV.1 Democracy, human rights and neoliberal reforms – the “Western” critiques 

IV.2 Particular vs. universal concepts 

IV.3 Universalist vs. relativist approaches   

V Conclusions 

Slides: 

I What is statebuilding (in Kyrgyzstan)?

Statebuilding and international intervention 

- International Relations and security after the end of the Cold War

- ‘Failed states’ and the ‘responsibility to protect’  

- 9/11 and the war on terror

- Security and development: Intervention, statebuilding assistance, promotion 

of democracy and human rights  

Statebuilding in Kyrgyzstan 

- Not a case of international intervention

- Extensive reforms, introduction of new standards and institutional templates 

- From “donor darling” to “global protectorate” 

- Web of economic and political ties and channels, economic interdependence, 

- Ambiguous relation towards international aid; internationally promoted 

since 1991 

political ties with Russia 

institutional reform

II “Imaginary West” and the semantics of international statebuilding

II.1 “The elsewhere of late Socialism” – Alexey Yurchak 

- Book 

- Consumption of Western cultural and technical goods not prohibited 

- Distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad West’ 

- Soviet governmentality: Not control, but authority of interpretation 

- Disappointment with the ‘real’ West 

II.2 Imagining “the West” in Kyrgyzstan today  

- Salience of imaginaries of the West  

- ‘The place to be’ – positive imaginings of the West  

- Undesirable, negative features of Western ‘culture’ 

- Where is the West? 

II.3 The “liberal peace” – international intervention and Western hegemony  

- Lose bundle of concepts and standards used in post-conflict reconstruction

- Post-conflict peace- and statebuilding vs. institutional reform and democracy 

- The critique of the “liberal peace”

- Counter-arguments against the critique – What’s wrong with ‘pragmatic’ 

promotion: similarities and differences 

approaches?

III From the “Imaginary West” to national ownership: Imaginaries of 

statebuilding and security practices in Kyrgyzstan  

III.1 Statebuilding, community security and institutional reform in Kyrgyzstan  

- Research focus on three types of actors with different position in state-society 

- Civic Union “For Reforms and Result”: Reform of law enforcement agencies 

- Local Crime Prevention Centres (Общественно-профилактические центры) 

- Territorial Youth Councils: Peaceful coexistence and interests of young people  

III.2 “Imaginary West” 

- Transparency and accountability 

- Cultured and educated people 

- Initiatives and political activism 

III.3 National autonomy  

- ‘Who gives money without asking anything back?’ – The controversial role 

- Sustainable and resilient self-governance (LCPCs, TYCs) 

- Complex problems, socio-economic issues and minority rights

III.4 Tradition 

- Litigation and conflict resolution: Aksakal courts 

- Peacebuilding and interethnic reconciliation 

- Tradition & Law: ‘Hybrid’ arrangements to overcome incompatibilities? 

- ‘Invented’ tradition: What to keep and how to get rid of undesired ‘traditions’?

IV Why is all of this important?  

IV.1 Democracy, human rights and neoliberal reforms – the “Western” critiques

- “Failing to protect”: The ineffectiveness of human rights 

- Cultural violence and ‘epistemicide’: Democratize democracy human rights?  

IV.2 Particular vs. universal concepts 

- A pluralistic approach to democracy 

- ‘Hybrid’ political orders: The best of both worlds? 

relations 

– community security and crime prevention  

NGOs and human rights activists (CURR) 

- Negative trajectories of hybridity and ‘virtual’ democracy

- ‘Rational’ values beyond identity – do they exist? 

- ‘A Mercedes is a Mercedes in Africa, too, no?’ 

IV.3 Universalist vs. relativist approaches   

- ‘The end of history’ – liberal democracy as ultimate end goal and benchmark 

- Gradualism vs. sequentialism 

- Transition and democratization studies 

- Critical perspectives in political economy; cultural studies 

V Conclusions 

- The “imaginary West” and its effects 

- Uses and abuses of labels – “West vs. East”; “modern vs. traditional”; “foreign 

- Political and decisions on institutional design and reform not a matter of 

- Entry points for critical academic inquiry 

for development 

vs. local” 

origin, but of substance