Leiden University Student Repository

Riet, Mart van de (2022)

The 'Silk Road' hanging on a thread: An analysis of Central Asian dependence on the Russian economy for stability

Bachelor thesis | Politicologie (BSc)

Combining literature on autocratic stability and regime legitimation, this thesis seeks to explore the dynamics between economic shocks in patron states and a decrease in the political stability of its client state(s). This research focuses on Russia as the patron state, and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its client states. It finds that output legitimacy is the primary strategy of legitimation of Central Asian states, and that economic crises in Russia directly impact the stability of the researched states. However, this effect is somewhat alleviated by moderating factors in the case of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Central Asia

Russia

political economy

stability

legitimacy

output legitimacy

patron-client relations

Author

Riet, Mart van de

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

International Relations and Organisations

Supervisors

Köhler, K.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en