Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher education in Central Asia blog

  • Controlling Central Asian “terrorism” and “religious extremism”

    Earlier this week, Central Asia had a rare but inglorious moment in the news headlines after an Uzbek born man was found to be behind an attempt at a “terror” attack in New York City. For those unfamiliar with the region or with the complexities of global religious extremism, this event was quickly reduced to… Read more

  • A visual tour of Central Asia’s universities

    I’ve had a small gallery of my pictures of Central Asia’s universities up on this site for a while, and have been meaning to update it after taking lots more photos this summer. So here we are, for your viewing pleasure (well, mainly for mine), here is a new and updated gallery showcasing just a… Read more

  • Bureaucracy 2.0: Red tape redux in Tajikistan

    Bureaucracy 2.0: Red tape redux in Tajikistan

    Bureaucracy lives and thrives in the higher education institutions of Central Asia. It may be more than 25 years since the Soviet Union collapsed but the volokita (red tape i.e. bureaucracy) that the USSR was so well known for remains in many social institutions of the formerly Soviet states. Universities are no exception. Opened to… Read more

  • Does study abroad lead to democracy in former Soviet countries?

    These days, there’s a lot of literature out there – both in the academic and the policy worlds – on studying abroad. You can read about why students choose to go abroad for higher education, how studying abroad changes students, how states compete to recruit the best students from around the world, what this all… Read more

  • Students in charge of universities and other quirks of Kazakh higher education history

    Did you know that Kazakhstan’s first university was opened in Tashkent – in today’s Uzbekistan? Or that the its first Rector (Vice-Chancellor) was a final year student? Or that throughout the Soviet period, there was only ever one university in Kazakhstan’s capital? All these fun (yes, they are fun!) facts and more can be found in a… Read more

  • Emomali

    Emomali

    The President of Tajikistan (his official title is now somewhat longer and less catchy: The Founder of Peace and National Unity, Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon) strikes a great pose and can be found in action all over Tajikistan. I’ve saved you the trouble of traipsing around… Read more