Securitization and Democracy in Eurasia

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

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2. Security Architecture in Eurasia

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Inter-State Diplomacy Within the OSCE Permanent Council

      • Daniel Schade

      Pages 3-17Open Access

   3. Development Aid and the Democratic Process in the OSCE Region

      • Mario Ghioldi

      Pages 19-41Open Access

   4. The OSCE ODIHR and Regional Organisations as Norm Entrepreneurs: The Case of Post-pandemic Kyrgyzstan

      • Ana-Maria Anghelescu, Svetlana Dzardanova

      Pages 43-61Open Access

   5. The Rise of Anti-Eurasian Sentiment in Kazakhstan

      • Saniya Malikbayeva, Gabit Gabdullin

      Pages 63-76Open Access

   6. Development Aid in Central Asia: A “Chessboard” for Great Powers?

      • Nargiza Kilichova

      Pages 77-94Open Access

   7. Central Asia’s Security Provider and Peacekeeper? Assessing Russia’s Role After the US Withdrawal from Afghanistan and Beyond

      • Elena Zhirukhina

      Pages 95-108Open Access

   8. Securitizing and De-securitizing Actors of the OSCE: The Case of the Western Balkan Region

      • Eni Lamçe

      Pages 109-123Open Access

   9. Russian Government Policy in the Western Balkans

      • Noela Mahmutaj

      Pages 125-135Open Access

   10. Social Security of States with Limited Recognition: A Case Study of the Republic of Kosovo

       • Paulina Szeląg

       Pages 137-151Open Access

   11. Peacebuilding in the OSCE Region: An Analysis of the Juxtaposition Between the Conflict Prevention Centre with the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund

       • Ulviyye Sanili Aydin

       Pages 153-161Open Access

   12. Women’s Transformative Power in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

       • Claudia Ditel

       Pages 163-177Open Access

   13. Gender Equality, Women’s Rights and Neo-traditionalism: The Case of Kyrgyzstan

       • Asylai Akisheva

       Pages 179-199Open Access

   14. Ending Gender-Based Violence in Kyrgyzstan: Reflections on the Spotlight Initiative

       • Aliia Maralbaeva, Chiara Pierobon

       Pages 201-215Open Access

   15. From Social Media to Social Change: Online Platforms’ Impact on Kazakhstan’s Feminist and Civil Activisms

       • Anaita Azizi

       Pages 217-228Open Access

   16. The Role of Teahouses in Central Asia: A Case Study of the Ferghana Valley

       • Ryan Schweitzer

       Pages 229-241Open Access

3. Special Section—China’s Belt and Road Initiative: A Curse or a Blessing for Democracy in Eurasia?

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 243-243

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   2. China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Curse or Blessing for Democracy in Eurasia?

      • Anja Mihr, Brigitte Weiffen

      Pages 245-254Open Access

   3. An Overview of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Its Development Since 2013

      • Dana Rice

      Pages 255-266Open Access

This open-access book presents cutting-edge research on securitization and democratic development in the OSCE Region. Gathering contributions by practitioners and researchers from various disciplines, it presents case studies and highlights recent activities of proactive engagement in democratic institution-building and responding to security threats from the Balkans to Central Asia. The volume is divided into three parts, the first of which focuses on security-related matters, armed conflicts, minorities, and women’s safety, as well as the roles that civil society, foreign governments, social media, and external donors play in this area. These contributions illustrate how the OSCE’s informal approach to peace, security, and securitization as norm entrepreneur is closely linked to the level of democracy among its member states. The second part presents a special section on the political implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), assessing the impact of this infrastructural program on the levels of democracy and/or autocracy in Eurasia. The third part consists of short chapters outlining future research and debates. The book will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, security studies, and the human rights-politics nexus. 

This is the 2022 instalment in a series of books released by the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. The OSCE works to promote Minority Protection, Security, Democratic Development and Human Rights, guided by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and to enhance securitization and development policies in Eurasia, Europe, Central Asia and North America. Since being founded in 1993, the OSCE and its agencies and departments have attracted a wealth of academic research in various fields and disciplines, ranging from economic development and election monitoring to enhancing global principles of human rights and securitization.

• Security Architecture in Eurasia
• Eurasian Regional Integration
• Western Balkan Region
• China’s Belt and Road Initiative
• Democracy in Eurasia
• Glocal Governance
• Great Power Rivalry in Central Asia
• Norm entrepreneurs
• Security studies
• Human rights
• Central Europe and Central Asia
• OSCE Region
• Open Access

• OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

  Anja Mihr

• Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy

  Paolo Sorbello

• Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

  Brigitte Weiffen

Anja Mihr is DAAD Associate Professor at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She is a professor of Human Rights, Governance, Public Policy, and Transitional Justice. She is the Founder and Program Director of the HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Center on Governance through Human Rights in Berlin in Germany.; and previously held professorships at the Willy-Brandt School of Public Policy, Erfurt University, Germany, and at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), University of Utrecht, Netherlands.

Paolo Sorbello is a researcher on Central Asian matters living in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He is a freelance journalist and editor for various online publications. He holds a PhD from the University of Glasgow (UK), where he studied labor relations in Kazakhstan’s oil sector.



Brigitte Weiffen is a political scientist and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), The Open University, United Kingdom, with research interests in comparative democratization and regional conflict and crisis management. She is also currently the Chair of Research Committee 34 “Quality of Democracy” of the International Political Science Association (IPSA). She has held visiting professorships at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, and academic positions at the University of Konstanz and the University of Tübingen, both in Germany.