The Geopolitics of Spectacle: Space, Synecdoche, and the New Capitals of Asia [NEW BOOK]

(Cornell University Press) Why do autocrats build spectacular new capital cities? In The Geopolitics of Spectacle, Natalie Koch considers how autocratic rulers use “spectacular” projects to shape state-society relations, but rather than…

Renewables in Kazakhstan and Russia: Promoting “Future Energy” or Entrenching Hydrocarbon Dependency?

(PONARS Policy Memo) Energy and natural resource use has always been a key issue of geopolitics, but as more countries adopt “post-oil” transition policies, environmental sustainability has itself become an important…

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NEW BOOK: The Geopolitics of Spectacle: Space, Synecdoche, and the New Capitals of Asia

Why do autocrats build spectacular new capital cities? In The Geopolitics of Spectacle, Natalie Koch considers how autocratic rulers use “spectacular” projects to shape state-society relations, but rather than focus on…

Qatar and Central Asia: What’s at Stake in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan?

(PONARS Policy Memo) Relations between Central Asian states and the Gulf Arab monarchies have expanded rapidly over the past decade. With one of the most outward-looking foreign policy agendas of…

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Restructuring Extractive Economies in the Caspian Basin: Too Little, Too Late?

(PONARS Policy Memo) The oil- and gas-rich states of the Caspian Sea basin—Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan—registered phenomenal growth throughout most of the 2000s. However, the heady days of resource-fueled development now…

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Why No “Water Wars” in Central Asia? Lessons Learned from the Aral Sea Disaster

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) In the mid-1980s, the international community became aware of the scope of a major environmental disaster in the Soviet Union. The Aral Sea, once the world’s…

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New Memo: The Sochi Syndrome Afoot in Central Asia: Spectacle and Speculative Building in Baku, Astana, and Ashgabat

(Co-authored with Anar Valiyev) “Urban boosterism” is defined as the active promotion of a city, and it typically involves large-scale urban development schemes, including constructing iconic new buildings, revamping local…

The Sochi Syndrome Afoot in Central Asia: Spectacle and Speculative Building in Baku, Astana, and Ashgabat (co-authored)

“Baku has a historical beauty. Ancient Baku has its own beauty, and it is a source of our pride. At the same time, the rejuvenating and modernizing Baku has already…

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The Geopolitics of Spectacle: Space, Synecdoche, and the New Capitals of Asia [NEW BOOK]

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