The nations of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were the focus of a recent Macalester symposium entitled “The Future of Central Asia: Global Issues in a Regional Context.”

Krista Goff ’04 and Kiija Manty ’04 organized the symposium which was held February 5-6. “It is a region that is often overlooked, yet central to international affairs,” Manty said. “Krista and I both wanted to create an opportunity for people to learn more about it.”

The symposium’s four sessions focused on U.S. policy in Central Asia, the Aral Sea, post-Soviet Central Asian Islam and a roundtable discussion.

The keynote speech, “Stepping on Our Own Feet? Key Issues for U.S. Policy Aid and Business in Central Asia,” was given by Nancy Lubin, president of JNA Associates. “Central Asia is right smack in the middle of all the issues we care about,” Lubin said. “You’ve got the bulk of U.S. foreign policy concerns surrounding it.”

Lubin focused on geography, national security concerns following Sept. 11, increasingly corrupt regional governments, human rights violations, natural resources and what she referred to as “human tragedies” resulting from environmental degradation and lack of adequate health care.

She also discussed the problems and future challenges associated with U.S. foreign policy in Central Asia. She cited drug trafficking in the region as one such problem. U.S. aid to combat drug trafficking has increased drug seizures, but also appears to have supported human rights violations by governments in the region, Lubin said.

The next session of the symposium was entitled “Water and the Future of Central Asia (Aral Sea Basin): Problems and Prospects.” Philip Micklin, Geography Professor Emeritus at Western Michigan University, gave the lecture. He focused on the problems that have resulted from “fundamentally significant changes in the physical characteristics of the sea.”

The Aral Sea, located between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, has lost 75 percent of its volume and 50 percent of its surface area since the 1960s. Soviet irrigation policies diverted river flow to the sea.

Resultant environmental problems include salt and dust storms, destruction of the ecosystem surrounding the sea, loss of the commercial fishing industry and poor quality drinking water.

Micklin said he believes that the key to fixing these problems is in resource management, international cooperation regarding water from the region’s two largest rivers—the Syr Dar’ya and the Amu Dar’ya—and improved irrigation practices.

Geography Professor William Rowe and Anneli Terry ’04 responded to Micklin’s presentation.

The symposium’s third session addressed Islam in Central Asia. Carleton College History Department Chair Adeeb Khalid argued that the “massive traumatic transformation” from seven decades of Soviet rule modernized and secularized the peoples of Central Asia, generating a uniquely tolerant and open Islamic cultural identity.

International Studies Professor Mohammed Bamyeh drew a contrast between what he called the “constant presence” of customary Islam and the “ephemeral force” of secular Islam.

All the speakers argued that Central Asia’s uniquely secularized Islamic culture could not be judged as inauthentic. “No one has the right to challenge the authenticity of Central Asian Islam,” respondent Sher Ali Tareen ’05 said. “Khalid and I agreed on recognizing the validity of Muslim atheism and Muslim secularism, both of which are predominant in Central Asia and the rest of the Muslim world.”

The final session of the symposium was a roundtable discussion that featured Khalid, Micklin and Laura Adams ’90, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgetown University. Iraj Bashiri, Professor of Central Asian Studies at the University of Minnesota, chaired the discussion.

The roundtable covered topics such as the evolution of radical Islam in the region and the effects of globalization on Central Asia. Adams tackled the gap between the elite ruling class and the average citizen in the region. “There is a real problem with actually finding ways to empower normal people into a decision making role,” she said.

Ruth Strickland ’07 who attended the roundtable discussion found it informative. “The best thing for me was hearing the different perspectives each person on the panel brought to the discussion. It gave the audience a way to become engaged because the people could relate to different opinions,” she said.

Russian Professor Jim von Geldern said that he felt the symposium was a success. “Macalester is probably the only college in the Midwest that can get 140 people to every session on Central Asia. Krista and Kiija did a fantastic job of organizing it.”

Tareen agreed. “The symposium was the best two days of my academic experience. More initiatives such as this are keenly needed on this campus,” he said.