Elements in Politics and Society from Central Europe to Central Asia – serie

A consequential shift is taking place in Central Asian studies today. What started as a slow rejection of the idea that the region benefited from Soviet control has turned into a decentralized, collective effort to revise the region's relationship to its colonial identity and to search for indigenous interpretations of the self. This Element explores the current decolonial disruptions in Central Asia-how the region is being redefined by its inhabitants, both in discourse and in practice. It captures the main areas of activism in memory studies, language activism, art installations, and transnational solidarity networks. Decolonial discussions are gaining traction, challenging political elites' hegemony over national identity formation. Such changes harbour the potential to profoundly alter Russia's influence in the areas it once controlled. Decolonial disruptions are reshaping how Central Asians think about their past and imagine their future.