ABSTRACT
How have Kyrgyzstan’s economic policy choices since independence affected the country’s political development? The data and analysis presented in this chapter offers a portrait of Kyrygzstan as the Central Asian country initially most dedicated to economic reform. Kyrgyzstan’s enthusiasm for the reform path early on earned Kyrgyzstan an early reputation as the “democratic showcase of the former Soviet Union.” Soon after independence, the Kyrgyzstan government embraced the policy prescriptions of the “Washington consensus.” Kyrygzstan attempted to implement the policy prescriptions of the Washington consensus in good faith. At the same time, Kyrgyzstan was a Central Asian country that faced substantial natural obstacles to successful economic reform. Kyrgyzstan’s economic reform measures did result in rapid and significant advances in state capacity. However, Kyrgyzstan’s economic reform did not lead to the expected growth in economic output, did not result in the expected improvements in social welfare, did little to improve the government’s capacity to protect civil rights, and had negligible effects on the process of political liberalization.
