ABSTRACT
Gender is used to both deconstruct and reconstruct complex understandings of how comprehensive gender integration reveals more authentic and inclusive ways of thinking about socio-political process, in this case the relation of gendered ethnicity to democracy assistance. In terms of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) -speak, a female-dominated civil society may offer a hereto unrecognized “tool” in USAID’s “democratic toolbox” to implement programs that reduce ethnic conflict and thereby increase the stability of democratic consolidation. Within Central Asia, USAID selected Kyrgyzstan as their “laboratory” to prove the success of democracy assistance. In addition to being USAID’s laboratory for democracy assistance, Kyrgyzstan is a relevant case for this research because of its ethnic complexity and salient gender divisions. Kyrgyzstan’s democratic reforms offer considerable promise for freedom in Central Asia. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
