Online Conference ‘The COVID-19 Crises and its Impact on Post-Soviet Central Asia’

This year with the overwhelming impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region and the world it was decided to trace how the consequences of it are changing the socio-political, economic, and human dimensions of Central Asia. The pandemic hit the region devastatingly. Nearly all sectors of the economy have been affected causing major disruptions in social protection and healthcare systems, markets, and employment. Information coverage of COVID-19 consequences on Central Asian societies lacked fairness and transparency. Central Asian leadership experienced growing crisis governance. State response on some key operational and institutional levels have failed to effectively and timely curb the consequences of the pandemic, which, in turn, exacerbated social and economic inequalities in the countries. This led to numerous challenges on the good governance front. The crises scaled up massive human rights abuses across the region. However, some of the region’s civil societies have shown better responsiveness and reacted swiftly seizing the momentum and becoming take-charge actors.

In light of these changes, a critical view of the scholarly and practitioners’ community into these processes is crucial.