Publication

This report analyzes the responses of ethnic Uzbek focus groups in Southern Kyrgyzstan to questions about attitudes towards the President and legal authorities. For example, opposing the conventional wisdom, some Uzbeks preferred Bakiev’s presidency to the Akaev era. The level of trust in courts, meanwhile, was universally low but only in the city of Osh did this distrust take on an ethnic dimension. The authors argue that researchers should be careful about essentiallizing ethnic Uzbek attitudes in Southern Kyrgyzstan as the variation between communities indicates a fragmentation of opinions and experiences.