Part 1 Old Territory, Multiple Influences, New Nation; Chapter 1 Turkmen Territory: Unity and Diversity; Chapter 2 From Antiquity to the Khanates: A History of Fits and Starts; Chapter 3 The Impact of Russian-Soviet Modernization; Chapter 4 The Building of the Turkmen Nation; Part 2 Post-Soviet Technologies of Power; Chapter 5 An Independence Marked by Niyazov’s Authoritarian Rule; Chapter 6 Culture and Religion: The Issues of Reconstruction; Chapter 7 Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov: Illusion of a Khrushchevian Thaw?; Part 3 Development Challenges and Strategies; Chapter 8 Turkmenistan from the Inside: Social and Economic Evolutions; Chapter 9 The Future “Kuwait of Central Asia”?; Chapter 10 Finding Its Place on the International Stage; concl Conclusions;
