Kyrgyzstan’s Nation-State Building Under the Dual Effects of Nationalism and Tribalism

Like other countries in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan embarked on a state-building journey to independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, three special alternations in power in the 30 years after independence have made Kyrgyzstan a special case among Central Asian countries, which significantly undermined the state-building process. Taking the power alternation in 2005 as an example, this article is trying to explore the state-building process of Kyrgyzstan from the perspective of nationalism and tribalism. Despite the efforts of Kyrgyz leaders to construct state nationalism, the return of tribal politics and ethnic nationalism hindered the formation of a unified national identity and weakened the strengthening of the state’s control over society, which ultimately slowed the building of the state.