투르크메니스탄 권위주의 정권과 민족주의

Authoritarian Regime and Nationalism in the post‐Soviet Turkmenistan: Peculiarities and Case Study

Nationalism, as it has evolved in post-Soviet Turkmenistan, has placed great emphasis on restoring and building up the national identity of Turkmen and Turkmenistan under the strategical leadership of S. Niyazov, the first president of Turkmenistan. The state-building and national-identity-building process has been characterized as state-led, and the influence of non-state elements of Turkmen society has been very weak due to the strong authoritarian regime. Authoritarianism, consolidated under the Niyazov and Berdimuhamedov regimes, has resulted in the lack of civil society, freedom of the mass media, middle class, and political parties in Turkmenistan, and the regime has dominated the building-up of national identity and nationalist discourses. Historical writing, the declaration of the Turkmen language as the state official language, the publication of Ruhnama, and the creation of the Xalq Maslahaty (People’s Council) are representative of nationalism policies promoted by Turkmen government. A relatively unified ethnic population (85% Turkmen) and a power structure centered on the president have consequently led to the scarcity of nationalist groups, discourses, and movement in Turkmenistan and this situation is likely to continue in the near future.