Blogosphere Reactions

Here are a few reactions to events in Kyrgyzstan. I’ll surely miss some, so if you have your own thoughts or want to draw my attention to others, leave a comment or trackback pointing to a post.

Robert Mayer has some thoughtful commentary over at Publius Pundit.

Captain Ed points out (and I appreciate him doing so) that it’s far from all puppy dogs and sunshine and that Russia seems to be acting out of character (via Instapundit). I’ll just point out again that Russia’s foreign policy is probably headed in a new direction after Ukraine. They’re apparently willing to work with anyone who is not antagonistic in the CIS.

Dan Darling discusses Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Glenn reminds once again that democratization is a process, something I think people all-too-often forget. As Matthew Yglesias argues, subsequent elections are when we can really say there’s been success. I would add that we can be instrumental in creating success, but only if we remember that the truly hard work is ahead of us.

And speaking of that hard work, Arthur Chrenkoff discusses reform priorities. I’m no big fan of “shock therapy” (and don’t think it’s really necessary for Kyrgyzstan’s economy anyway), but it’s good to see people thinking about next steps.

UPDATE: See Obsidian Wings too. Edward has some info from Bishkek and comments.

More UPDATES: Be sure to check the links in the comments. Also see this report at Mutant Frog.

This post was written by...

Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.

Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.