Description: A compelling study of the divergent political courses taken by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan in the wake of Soviet rule. McGlinchey examines economics, religion, political legacies, foreign investment, and the ethnicity of these countries to evaluate the relative success of political structures in each nation.
Review Quotes: One of the most detailed analysis of Central Asian politics to date. . . . The historico-political analysis introduced here is a real tour de force, with McGlinchey examining the long-term structural causes of Central Asia's patronage systems while establishing a direct connection between the politics of perestroika and divergences in post-Soviet authoritarian developments. . . . McGlinchey knows the region very well, and adds a significant degree of analytical sophistication to first-class research.-- "International Affairs"