ABSTRACT

Central Asia’s republics are emerging from a turbulent history and face an uncertain future cluttered with a pressing litany of social challenges. The previous chapter explored external pressures, while this one introduces the region’s many homegrown threats. These include poor living conditions, a marked increase in organized crime, progressively worsening environmental conditions, serious water shortages, widespread unemployment, religious extremism, heavy-handed political control, drugs, border disputes, and significant ethnic and cultural tensions.