ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an assessment of the Russian/Soviet legacy and describes briefly the political trends in each of the Central Asian states. It presents a case study of Tajikistan, because that country's events provide a useful basis for thinking about how the prospects for political pluralism in Central Asia can be shaped by important ethnic, regional, and religious factors. The chapter looks at some of the models of political development employed in analyses of other emerging societies and how they may help to think about possible outcomes in Central Asia. The Central Asian experience since the demise of the USSR raises serious questions about the interrelationship of the problems of political development and the emergence of democratic pluralism. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 marked the end of but one era in the long, complex history of Central Asia.
