Books by Touraj Atabaki

Because of its geographical location, Central Asia has been a cultural crossroads since the dawn of history. The great ancient civilizations of China, Iran, India, the Turkic peoples of the northern steppes have all shaped its historical development. Over seventy years of Soviet rule, however, serious attempts were made to suppress aspects of local culture, including religion and any separatist sense of ethnic identity. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the independent Central Asian republics enjoy a greater degree of autonomy but they are faced with a range of complex social, political and economic problems. This book addresses not only these problems but also aspects of the regions history and culture, including questions of contemporary nationalism and ethnic identity, the recent political role of the literati, the role of oil in the economies of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, the foreign policy dilemmas of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Ether republics, and Iran's aspirations in the region.