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Dr. Aksana Ismailbekova

Kurzzeitstipendiatin (12/2009 - 08/2010)
Verteidigung: 08.02.2012
Prädikat: magna cum laude
Betreuer: Prof. Dr. G. Schlee

Kinsmen and Patrons in Rural Kyrgyzstan

The demise of the Soviet Union and economic changes led to social stratification i.e. inequality and class differentiation, above all in rural areas. In this situation, people suddenly found themselves without state support and lacking social protection. This lack of collective unification and support greatly contributed to their economic difficulties. During the trial and error process of privatization, an emerging moral crisis and ideological search in the post-Soviet period, especially the confusion of identities and the rule of a profit-oriented ideology, encourage people to seek more personal connections. People were flexible in accepting innovations and ready to resort to past, whether traditional or Soviet, and present experience in order to start a new life in a harsh free market economy. The public patron, ‘a native son', was their only resort to face these difficulties.
The aim of this project is to examine patron-client relations (patronage) in a rural community in Kyrgyzstan. It starts with the hypothesis that patron-client relations form vital links in larger social networks and as such can be analyzed as coping strategy in response to the specificities of the "market economy" that has developed in Kyrgyzstan. The significance of patron-client networks in contemporary Kyrgyzstan is its modified form determined by market-oriented informal transactions in conjunction with cultural and social values (respect, authority, solidarity).
In order to understand the contemporary patronage in rural Kyrgyzstan, it is crucial to examine the process of transformation of patron-client ties throughout history. I look at what kind of patron client system I am dealing with at any given time (like under the USSR, after the collapse of the USSR-where the clients and patrons was the key linkages, and local level, triadic ties operating at the local level) and the changes taking place in subsequent years. I investigate the carry-over of one type clientelism under the Soviet rule (party centered patronage and favors) to another type, more fluid, less rigid, which has accompanied the move to privately owned economy. It is that formal type of economies has no bearing on the persistence; rather kinship has been variously utilized. In this context, the connections between patrons and clients partake of the qualities of traditional and modern frameworks (party ties as well as lineage or regional affiliations). Thus the omnipresent phenomena are capable of adjusting the changing needs and demands of the societies.
For this project, I will try to take into consideration all the various types of networks and all forms of ‘help' within these networks. By comparing several networks, I will be able to understand the distinctiveness of patron-client relationships. My task is to take into consideration symmetrical and asymmetrical relations; sameness and difference; degrees of overlap and complementary relationships between the activities of the partners. Support institutions in Kyrgyzstan include informal social networks such as patronage, connections, neighborhood and workplace kinship and friendship relations. Informal social networks are bound together by interpersonal trust and play a most profound role in the exchange of goods and services. By identifying the various forms of interpersonal relations, it will be possible to examine the various coping strategies. Therefore, for this project it is crucial to describe and analyze exchange and reciprocity and various forms of social networking as survival strategies in response to the ‘market economy'.
I show extended case studies (private property ‘kolkhoz', conflict around land, elections, and the feast) and examine the functions and dynamics of patron-client relations in everyday life and in the process of change.

Education

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