Central Asia: An Exception to the “Cute Cats” Theory of Internet Revolution

by Sarah Kendzior

Last month Ethan Zuckerman, a senior researcher at the Berkman Center of Internet and Society, gave a lecture on how his “cute cats” theory of the internet applies to the Arab Spring. For those of you unfamiliar with the theory, Cory Doctorow sums it up in an rapturous review of the talk in the Guardian: [...]

41 comments Read the full article →

Chart of the Day

by Joshua Foust
Read the full article →

Hello, Conflict of Interest

by Joshua Foust

Xandra Kayden, a senior fellow at the UCLA School of Public Affairs, is unhappy with RFE/RL: There is something weird and rather disturbing about Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) – a U.S.-funded media outlet that is famous for broadcasting information during the Cold War to support our friends and undermine our enemies – attacking an [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Indulging the Autocracies of the FSU

by Joshua Foust

Here at Registan.net, we’ve almost made it a sport to poke fun—sometimes gently, sometimes not—at the ridiculous antics of the family members of the Former Soviet Union states. It should come as no surprise that many of the dynasties currently choking Central Asia are, in fact, rotten to the core… though, as Steve LeVine points [...]

6 comments Read the full article →

Aliyev Must be Pandering for Votes…

by Asher Kohn

…because he just decreed that the Azeri people’s debt to the state owned gas company is kaput. Wait, did I say “decreed”? I guess this isn’t a vote thing after all. It’s just Caucasus economics. Aliyev looks great to his people (and his parliament). He gets to be a father of the people just like [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Look Out Kid, It’s Something You Did

by Asher Kohn

Let’s try something different today. A big part of some folks’ frustration with getting involved in Central Asian happenings is that they have a difficult time jumping in to the deep-end of the subject matter that gets covered here. To remedy that, I’m going to try to explain some trends in energy policies within Central [...]

11 comments Read the full article →

Livestock-related Political Satire=Hooliganism in Azerbaijan?

by Noah Tucker

The NYT carries a story today about two Azeribaijani bloggers arrested this week on charges of “hooliganism” apparently in retaliation for a politcally charged satirical video they produced last month featuring a donkey giving a press conference. English subtitles were kindly added to the video for all to enjoy (but not the postscript: can anyone [...]

14 comments Read the full article →

Azerbaijan’s NATO Prospects

by Nathan Hamm

Over at Foreign Policy, Joshua Keating assesses Azerbaijan’s NATO membership chances to be decent compared to other candidates’ which is kind of like the analytical equivalent of Evel Knievel attempting to jump Snake River Canyon. It’s a bold argument, but I’m playing the part of ABC Sports here and not buying it. Keating jumps off [...]

Read the full article →

Why Bother Researching Anything, Anyway

by Joshua Foust

Guess who wrote this: While there are no Starbucks or Crate and Barrels in Baku, the city’s 2-million-plus residents experience a life radically more American than Saudi. Soviet aesthetics and mannerisms still dominate, yet materialism rears its Bulgari-ed head. “Tropic Thunder” and “Hellboy II” play in the local multiplex down the promenade from Cafe Mozart, [...]

9 comments Read the full article →

Rashid Behbudov

by Marc W

I’m listening to a CD of Rashid Behbduov right now. Who, you ask? Don’t feel bad, I had never heard of him either. My boss just walked into my office and offered the CD to me, describing it as “old-timey Azeri music.” According to his entry on Wikipedia, Behbudov was born in Tblisi in 1915 [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries