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Central Asian Studies
Anthropology May 9, 2022

The Sound of Salvation

Voice, Gender, and the Sufi Mediascape in China

Guangtian Ha

Hosted by Irene Promodh
The Jahriyya Sufis—a primarily Sinophone order of Naqshbandiyya Sufism in northwestern China—inhabit a unique religious soundscape. The hallmark of their spiritual practice is the “loud” (jahr) remembrance of God in …

Central Asian Studies

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Interviews with scholars of Central Asia about their new books.

Brill on the Wire May 4, 2022

Central Asia Under Brussels’ and Moscow’s Eyes

"Migration" Series 2

W. M. Gerrits

Hosted by Leigh Giangreco
The Soviet Republic once held tremendous sway over the politics of Central Asia as the grand hegemon of the region. But now, in the post-Soviet world, geopolitics in this region …
Central Asian Studies April 18, 2022

Sinostan

China's Inadvertent Empire

Raffaello Pantucci and Alexandros Petersen

Hosted by Luca Anceschi
I am very pleased to host on the podcast Raffaello Pantucci, one of the authors of Sinostan: China's Inadvertent Empire [Oxford University Press 2022]. This great new book approaches through a very …
East Asian Studies April 13, 2022

Terror Capitalism

Uyghur Dispossession and Masculinity in a Chinese City

Darren Byler

Hosted by Ed Pulford
The continuing crisis in Xinjiang has, thanks to the work of many scholars and reporters, led to greatly increased awareness of the region's history and Uyghur population among publics outside China. But so far  less appreciated have been …
Central Asian Studies April 6, 2022

Hammer and Anvil

Nomad Rulers at the Forge of the Modern World

Pamela Kyle Crossley

Hosted by Lance Pursey
This groundbreaking book examines the role of rulers with nomadic roots in transforming the great societies of Eurasia, especially from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. Distinguished historian Pamela Kyle Crossley …
General History March 29, 2022

Before the West

The Rise and Fall of Eastern World Orders

Ayşe Zarakol

Hosted by Vladislav Lilic
Ayse Zarakol, Professor of International Relations at the University of Cambridge, is the author of Before the West: The Rise and Fall of Eastern World Orders (Cambridge University Press, 2022). Before the West …
Art March 25, 2022

Mongol Court Dress, Identity Formation, and Global Exchange

Eiren L. Shea

Hosted by Tanja Tolar
The Mongol period (1206-1368) marked a major turning point of exchange - culturally, politically, and artistically - across Eurasia. The wide-ranging international exchange that occurred during the Mongol period is …
Asian Review of Books March 17, 2022

Afghan Napoleon

The Life of Ahmad Shah Massoud

Sandy Gall

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
On September 9th, 2001, Ahmed Shah Massoud—called one of the greatest guerilla leaders in history, alongside names like Che Guevara and Ho Chi Minh, was assassinated by two Al-Qaeda suicide …
Russian and Eurasian Studies March 15, 2022

Debates on Stalinism

Mark Edele

Hosted by Iva Glisic
Debates on Stalinism (Manchester University Press, 2020) considers some of the major debates about Stalinism during and after the Cold War. Was ‘Stalinism’ a system in its own right, or just …
Central Asian Studies March 14, 2022

Atomic Steppe

How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb

Togzhan Kassenova

Hosted by Luca Anceschi
This month we are delighted to host Togzhan Kassenova on our NBN Central Asian Studies podcast. Dr Kassenova is the author of the beautifully researched yet very readable Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the …
Eastern European Studies March 1, 2022

Stalinism at War

The Soviet Union in World War II

Mark Edele

Hosted by Amber Nickell
Stalinism at War: The Soviet Union in World War II (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021) tells the epic story of the Soviet Union in World War Two.Starting with Soviet involvement in the war in Asia …
Russian and Eurasian Studies February 23, 2022

The Soviet Passport

The History, Nature and Uses of the Internal Passport in the USSR

Albert Baiburin

Hosted by Catriona Gold
In The Soviet Passport: The History, Nature and Uses of the Internal Passport in the USSR (Polity Press, 2021), Albert Baiburin provides the first in-depth study of the development and uses of the …
Russian and Eurasian Studies February 18, 2022

Clientalism and Nationality in an Early Soviet Fiefdom

The Trials of Nestor Lakoba

Timothy K. Blauvelt

Hosted by Samantha Lomb
Timothy Blauvelt’s book Clientelism and Nationality in an Early Soviet Fiefdom: The Trials of Nestor Lakoba (Routledge, 2021), explores the complexity of Soviet Nationality Policy and patronage relationships among the …
Russian and Eurasian Studies February 4, 2022

The Memory of the Second World War in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia

David L. Hoffmann

Hosted by Jennifer Eremeeva
Over 75 years have passed since the end of World War II, but the collective memory of the conflict remains potently present for the people of the Russian Federation. Professor …
Russian and Eurasian Studies December 30, 2021

Putin's Attempt to Hide the Crimes of Stalinism

A Talk with Benjamin Nathans about the Suppression of "Memorial"

Benjamin Nathans

Hosted by Marshall Poe
For the past 30 years, a group of Russian scholars have dedicated themselves to uncovering the crimes of Stalinism. Their organization, Memorial, has in that time made great strides in …
Russian and Eurasian Studies December 8, 2021

Place and Nature

Essays in Russian Environmental History

David Moon, Nicholas Breyfogle, and Alexandra Bekasova

Hosted by Samantha Lomb
Place and Nature: Essays in Russian Environmental History (White Horse Press, 2021) is a collection of essays on environmental history spanning primarily the 19th and 20th centuries. Covering a wide …
Central Asian Studies December 7, 2021

Decolonizing Central Asian International Relations

Beyond Empires

TIMUR. DADABAEV

Hosted by Luca Anceschi
This month we discuss the post-coloniality of Central Asia's International relations with Timur Dadabaev, the author of Decolonizing Central Asian International Relations: Beyond Empire (Routledge, 2021). This book, which brings together …
Central Asian Studies November 10, 2021

Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia

Rico Isaacs and Erica Marat

Hosted by Nicholas Seay
The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia (Routledge, 2021), edited by Rico Isaacs and Erica Marat, offers the first comprehensive, cross-disciplinary overview of key issues in Central Asian Studies. The 3 …
Central Asian Studies November 1, 2021

Central Peripheries

Nationhood in Central Asia

Marlene Laruelle

Hosted by Luca Anceschi
This month we are delighted to host one of the most important voices in Central Asian Studies worldwide: Professor Marlene Laruelle from George Washington University in DC, to discuss her …
Central Asian Studies October 14, 2021

Slow Anti-Americanism

Social Movements and Symbolic Politics in Central Asia

Edward Schatz

Hosted by Luca Anceschi
I could not think of a better way to start my tenure as host of New Books in Central Asian Studies than discussing Slow Anti-Americanism: Social Movements & Symbolic Politics in Central …