ABSTRACT
Ethnicity and all that it connotes has gained prominence in research focusing on post-communist struggles. In fact, the renewed attention given ethnicity suggests that the pervasiveness of communist rule had blinded both scholars and policymakers to the likely consequences of a "world order" less defined by superpower competition. Although much scholarly disagreement surrounds the conceptualization of ethnicity, there appears to be a consensus about its importance as an explanatory variable in research focusing on post-communist conflicts. The artificial boundaries established after the dissolution of empires in Eastern Europe and in conjunction with Russian and Soviet expansionism intermingled groups of people separated previously by ethnic, religious, and national boundaries. These differentiated populations were forced by the communist regimes to suppress their previous identities, and to forfeit their property rights to the communist state. The conflict in Tajikistan represents a battle for power between two groups—Kulyabis and Khojandis—who populate different regions of the country.
