Uzbekistan apparently just banned political science studies

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Uzbekistan, ruled by strongman Islam Karimov since 1990, is widely considered to be one of the most corrupt and repressive countries in the world.

Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Global Post
By Dan Peleschuk | September 2, 2015

Political science students in much of the world are gearing up for the new school year, but in one country, their peers had better scramble fast for a different major.

Uzbekistan, the former Soviet republic in Central Asia, apparently just banned poli-sci from universities across the country.

There hasn't been a government announcement yet. But a prominent Uzbek political scientist recently posted a rare open letter on Facebook denouncing the move, and other Central Asia watchers have concurred. According to the political expert, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Higher and Specialized Secondary Education ordered the ban last week.

He said the reasons include what officials believe to be the discipline’s lack of scientific rigor, as well as its “exclusively” Western body of literature, which apparently obscures the particular Uzbek nature of politics.

But critics see right through that.

Uzbekistan, ruled by strongman Islam Karimov since 1990, is widely considered to be one of the most corrupt and repressive countries in the world. Citizens have no say in the political process, and dissent is brutally crushed.

“Political science analyzes the legitimacy of the authorities, state institutions, elections, and political parties,” said Daniil Kislov, the editor of Fergana News, an independent Moscow-based news site that covers Central Asia. The outlet posted what it purports to be a scanned copy of the ministry’s order.


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