XVII ASIAC Annual Conference
Rome, 14-15-16 December 2023
Sapienza University of Rome
Department of Political Sciences
Piazzale Aldo Moro no.5 – 00185 Rome
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Download the programme as a pdf file
14 December 2023
8.30 – 9.00
Registration
Graduation Room, Political Science Department, Sapienza University
9.00 – 9.30
Openings and welcoming addresses
Room: Graduation Room, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Aldo FERRARI, ASIAC and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Maria Cristina MARCHETTI, Sapienza University of Rome
Adriano ROSSI, ISMEO – The International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies
Antonello BIAGINI, Emeritus Professor, Sapienza University of Rome
Luca MICHELETTA, Sapienza University of Rome
Michelguglielmo TORRI, Asia Maior
9.30 -11.00
Knowledge, power, society and the environment in Central Asia’s Soviet and Post-Soviet Irrigated Agriculture
Special Section “Humans and the Environment”
Chair: Riccardo M. CUCCIOLLA, University of Naples “L’Orientale”
Room: Graduation Room, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
The Cotton Disease. The White Gold Monoculture in Soviet Uzbekistan and its Implications
Riccardo M. CUCCIOLLA, University of Naples “L’Orientale”
Slow Violence and Silent Dissent After State Withdrawal and War: Soil Salinisation and the Agrarian Order in Southwest Tajikistan
Irna HOFMAN, University of Oxford
Gallows Humour for a Dwindling Sea: The Cotton-Water Nexus in Tajik Graphic Satire (1960s-1991)
Flora ROBERTS, Utrecht University
Shifting Knowledge Practices about Soil Salinization in Southern Kazakhstan
Tommaso TREVISANI, University of Naples “L’Orientale”
11.20 – 13.00
Humans and the Environment in contemporary Central Asia
Special Section “Humans and the Environment” (II)
Chair: Stefano RAVAGNAN, OACC
Room: Graduation Room, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Kazakhstan’s Modern Nuclear and Environmental Considerations
Nicole ANSELMO, University of Oxford
The Environmental Approach in Uzbekistan, with Particular Regard to Italian Cooperation
Alessandro CARILE, University of Trieste
Pastoralism in Contemporary Kazakhstan: Property Relations and Inequality
Roger CREUS VILA, University of Oxford
The Priorities of Sustainable Development of al-Farabi KAZNU: Green University, Green Office, Green Campus
Galiya IBRAYEVA, al Farabi Kazakh National University
Implementing Sustainable Development Policies in Developing Countries: From One-Size-Fits-All Approaches to SDGS in Central Asia
Serik ORAZGALIYEV, Nazarbayev University
13.00 – 14.30
Lunch break
14.30 -16.00 (A)
Names and Stories
Chair: Lorenzo PUBBLICI, University of Naples “L’Orientale”
Room: Hall no.8, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
The Names of the Jews and Jewish Names in Georgia
Tamari LOMTADZE, Tbilisi State University
Tsira JANJGAVA, Tbilisi State University
Manana MIKADZE, Akaki Tsereteli State University
Soslan and the Balsæg’s wheel
Paolo OGNIBENE, University of Bologna
Changing Environmentalism and Social Critique in the Works of Chingiz Aitmatov
Paul WOODS, Asia Graduate School of Theology – Alliance
14.30 -16.00 (B)
Conflict, crises and wars
Chair: Dina SHARIPOVA, Nazarbayev University, Astana
Room: Study room no.2, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
The implications of the war in Ukraine in the Caucasus region: towards a new balance of power
Giorgio CELLA, University of Calabria
Azerbaijan Amid the Ukrainian Crisis: Perceptions, Implications and Expectations
Fidan NAMAZOVA, ADA University, Baku
Human Rights situation in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region
Steve SWERDLOW, University of Southern California
An alternative view on Kazakhstan’s modern history
Fabrizio VIELMINI, Webster University
16.00 – 16.30
Coffee break
16.30 – 18.00 (A)
Diasporas
Chair: Aldo Ferrari, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Room: Hall no.8, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
How Many and Where? Data and Avenues of Research on the Caucasian Diaspora in Late Ottoman and Early Republican Turkey
Fabio L. GRASSI, Sapienza University of Rome
We Are Not Diaspora: Identity Negotiation Among Uzbeks in Sairam District
Intizor M. SAIDIKARIMOVA, Nazarbayev University
16.30 – 18.00 (B)
China in Central Asia
Chair: Jasmin Dall’Agnola, George Washington University
Room: Study room no.2, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
The Interplay of Russian and Chinese (Self)Perceptions in Kyrgyzstan
Sara BERLOTO, University of Milan
Nicolò FASOLA, University of Bologna
A Self-interested Economic Provider? Research on Central Asia in the People’s Republic of China
Frank MARACCHIONE, University of Sheffield
Bradley JARDINE, Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs and Wilson Center
China’s multiple multilateral initiatives in Central Asia – a critical assessment
Elżbieta M. PROŃ, University of Silesia in Katowice
Environmental Risks in the Implementation of Belt and Road Initiative: Case of Kazakh-Chinese Joint Manufacturing Enterprises
Azhar SERIKKALIYEVA, Almaty Management University
Health Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics: Tracing Discourses on Cooperation with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan during COVID-19
Giulia SCIORATI, London School of Economics and Political Science
18.00 – 19.00
ASIAC General Assembly (in Italian)
15 December 2023
9.30 – 11.00
Baku’s Evolving Place in Azerbaijani Social Life: Urbanity, Wealth, and Societal Identities Since World War Two
Chair: Tsypylma Darieva, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) Berlin
Room: Study room no.2, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Transforming Landscapes: The Azerbaijani Middle Class and the Politics of Change
Cristina BOBOC, Ghent University
Finding a Place in Post-War Baku: Social and Cultural Challenges of Integration for Baku’s Migrants from the Village in the 1940s to early 1950s
Heather D. DEHAAN, Binghamton University
Leaving Home for a Better Future: The Environment and Rural-Urban Migration in Azerbaijan (late 1940s-1950s)
Shalala MAMMADOVA, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University
Making Black City White: Oil, Wealth, and Spatial Inequalities in Baku, Azerbaijan
Leyla SAYFUTDINOVA, University of St. Andrews
11.30 – 13.00
Studying China in Central Asia – roundtable
Chairs: Frank Maracchione, University of Sheffield; Giulia Sciorati, London School of Economics and Political Science
Room: Study room no.2, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Participants:
Jasmin DALL’AGNOLA, George Washington University
Irna HOFMAN, University of Oxford
Frank MARACCHIONE, University of Sheffield
Elżbieta M. PROŃ, University of Silesia in Katowice
Giulia SCIORATI, London School of Economics and Political Science
Eva SEIWERT, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
David TOBIN, University of Sheffield
Azhar SERIKKALIYEVA, Almaty Management University
13.00 – 14.30
Lunch break
14.30 – 16.00
Addressing the formal-informal dichotomy in the study of Central Asia: between access to resources and distribution networks
Chair: Madina Gazieva, Dublin City University
Room: Study room no.2, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
The Role of Labor Intermediaries in the Migration Corridor from Central Asia to the EU
Giulio BENEDETTI, Stockholm School of Economics and Maastricht University
The Role of the Socio-Cultural Context in Shaping Female Entrepreneurship: Insights from Kyrgyzstan
Alberica CAMERANI, Dublin City University
‘They Self-Provision for Subsistence’ – Livelihoods and Water Access Dynamics among Smallholders in Rural Uzbekistan
Madina GAZIEVA, Dublin City University
One Can Always Find a Job’. Understanding Unemployment in Central Asia: An Analysis of Labour Market Policies in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
Eugenia PESCI, University of Helsinki
Navigating the Bazaar: Women’s Experiences of Informal Work in Uzbekistan
Binazir YUSUPOVA, Dublin City University
16.30 – 17.30
The Black Sea area: Identities and Security in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine
Chairs: Andrea CARTENY, Sapienza University
Room: Study room no.2, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Participants:
Carlo FRAPPI, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Giuseppe MOTTA, Sapienza University of Rome
Gabriele NATALIZIA, Sapienza University of Rome
Nicolò RASCAGLIA, Sapienza University of Rome
Alessandra RUSSO, University of Trento
17.30 – 18.00
Pan-Nationalism in Eurasia: The Myth of Turan – Book Presentation
Chairs: Fabio L. GRASSI, Sapienza University
Room: Study room no.2, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Participants:
Davor ANTONUCCI, Sapienza University of Rome
Fulvio BERTUCCELLI, Sapienza University of Rome
Paolo PIZZOLO, Sapienza University of Rome
16 December 2023
9.15 – 11.00 (A)
Conflict and Security in the South Caucasus
Chair: Carlo Frappi, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Room: Hall C, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Escaping an Ideology and Resisting its Affective Discipling: The Case of the No-War Movements in Azerbaijan
Cesare FIGARI BARBERIS, Graduate Institute of Geneva
Railroad to Peace? Implications of Opening the Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz Railine between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Mahammad MAMMADOV, Topchubashov Center, Baku
Caucasus and the first Karabakh conflict in Giulio Andreotti’s archives
Daniel POMMIER VINCELLI, Sapienza University of Rome
Managing Security in the Caucasus: Repercussions and Motives of Regional and Global Players in the Karabakh Conflict
Simona SCOTTI, Independent Researcher
Ontological Security, Collective Memory, and Narratives: Rethinking Russian–Armenian Relations throughout the Nagorno–Karabakh Conflict
Leonardo ZANATTA, Corvinus University of Budapest
9.15 – 11.00 (B)
Economic diversification
Chair: Frank Maracchione, University of Sheffield
Room: Hall D, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Connectivity between Landlocked Central Asian States to Land Linked Pakistan through Chinese Led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Javaid FAISAL, Federal Urdu University
Michael SPIES, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, and Muhammad
F. SYED, Federal Urdu University
External resources, professionalization and accountability: Exploring self-regulatory practices in Georgian civil society
Najmin KAMILSOY, Charles University
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) in the Post-Oil Era: Will the “Wallet” Survive?
Teymur KHALAFOV, University of Glasgow
Structural Transformation through a Multi-Vector Geo-Economic Governance? BRI and Upgrading(s) of the Uzbek Gas Industry
Lorena LOMBARDOZZI, The Open University
Achieving Sustainable Development Goals within the Eurasian region
Aleksandra KHRAMOVA, Eurasian Economic Commission
11.00 – 11.20
Coffee break
11.20 – 13.00 (A)
Memory, Modernity and Historical Legacy
Chair: Velizar Sadovski, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Room: Hall C, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Central Asian progressive thinker of the end of the 19th century: analysis of Ahmad Donish’s intellectual legacy
Kamila AKHMEDJANOVA, University of Oxford
Brothers beyond the Curtain: Representations of “Captive” Turkic Peoples in Right-Wing Press during the Cold War
Fulvio BERTUCCELLI, Sapienza University of Rome and University of Bologna
The Legacies of Environmental Colonialism in Post-Soviet Central Asian Culture
Tamar KOPLATADZE, University of Oxford
Memory Activism and the KGB Archive Documents: Crafting Gulag Truths in Tbilisi, Georgia
Laura MAFIZZOLI, University of Manchester
11.20 – 13.00 (B)
Space and socio-political dynamics [hybrid]
Chair: Alessandra Russo, University of Trento
Room: Hall D, Political Sciences Department, Sapienza University
Urban By Default? Exploring Almaty & Astana’s Development as Cases of Kazakhstan’s Political Development”
Arina DMITRENKO, University of Toronto
The Power of Water: Exploring Infrastructural Projects and Socio-Political Dynamics in Central Asia
Eugenia FABBRI, University of Bologna
Urban Space in Contemporary Armenia: Between Private, Public, and No One’s
Maria GUNKO, University of Oxford
Sarhat PETROSYAN, urbanlab
Crowded and aggrieved: Housing crisis, acculturation gap and psychological distress between two generations in Kazakhstan
Moldir KABYLOVA, University of Nottingham
Understanding Women’s Movements in Armenia (1991-2022)
Olga AZATYAN, Yerevan State University
Special session
N.B. This special session takes place at the the National Central Library of Rome, located in Viale Castro Pretorio no.105 (at the Metro B “Castro Pretorio” stop, and walking distance from Sapienza’s Campus)
15:30 – 17:30
Continuities and Discontinuities in Central Asia and the Caucasus. A Visual Approach to the Human Landscape
Chair:
Aldo FERRARI, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Adriano ROSSI, ISMEO – The International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies.
Venue: National Central Library of Rome, Viale Castro Pretorio n.105
Room: Sala Macchia
Central Asian Leniniana: Textual Iconographies of Vladimir Il’ič Lenin in Soviet Tajikistan
Stefano PELLO’, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
The project OSCOP. Observing South Caucasus’ Historical Landscape: An Open Photo Archive
Stefano RICCIONI, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz