Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher Education in Central Asia Blog (est. 2011)

  • Some thoughts on violence in Central Asia

    Several conversations I’ve had and articles I’ve read recently have been about violence in Central Asia. This isn’t just about physical violence – although this seems to loom large – but political and economic violence too. First, on physical violence. I heard that a friend of a friend was beaten up after leaving a wedding… Read more

  • Guess the country…

    The UK-based Telegraph newspaper today has a story on what will be the one of the world’s biggest mosques. The start of building on the 115,000-capacity building closely follows the official launch of the world’s tallest flagpole in the same country. Can you guess where? A further clue: the mosque, 70% funded by Qatar, has… Read more

  • A new “Cоюз нерушимый республик свободных”?

    Sorry – I haven’t yet mentioned that some posts may be all or partly in Russian, but I’ll ensure there is always an English translation. In addition, as the blog develops I’m hoping to get a range of colleagues contributing and it may be that some people feel more comfortable writing in Russian. But the… Read more

  • Attention-grabbing headline further degrades the value of universities

    I’ve just seen this article in the UK’s Telegraph newspaper and I am seething. The headline – ‘Students to pay up to £50 an hour to attend lectures’ – is probably the worst part of it. It’s quite literally a cheap shot at universities by trying to demonstrate their worth through some kind of twisted… Read more

  • It’s official – China now owns part of Tajikistan

    Wrapping up a deal done earlier this year, China has now formally taken over 1% of Tajikistan in the desolate eastern Tajik Pamir mountain range. A short but interesting – and ever so slightly sardonic – story on this is on the Asian Correspondent . At the time, the Tajik government claimed moral victory over their… Read more

  • Where in the world would you least expect high property costs?

    You could provide several answers to that question, but the article I’m posting here looks at Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. No, really.   Intrigued? Read the full article on the wonderful Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website for more.   By the way, this is my first post in the ‘bureaucratic madness’ category and it… Read more