Publication

This brief assesses the problem of Islamists in prison in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It argues that Islamist proselytizers are consolidating their position within the informal structures of power behind prison walls. Incarcerating determined activists is providing them with the opportunity to extend their influence among convicts, at first inside prison and then on their release. It also argues that for over a decade, muddle-through has been the strategy of choice for Central Asia’s rulers and that with the increasing armed threats coming from Afghanistan and deepening economic problems, time may no longer be on their side.