Uzbekistan's ‘spirit’ of self-reliance and the logic of appropriateness: TAPOich and interaction with Russia

Connectivity, energy, and transportation in Uzbekistan’s strategy vis-à-vis Russia, China, South Korea, and Japan

“…According to these, many post-socialist states, including Uzbekistan, were presented with the choice of drastic liberalization of economy called “shock therapy” (Popov 2007 ) or some variation of developmental state (see Johnson 1982 ; for this model in CA, see Stark and Ahrens 2012 ). Uzbekistan opted to preserve the active agency of the state and aspired to shape its investment policy through governmental interventions (Spechler 2000 : 295–303; Fazendeiro 2015 , 2017 , 2018 ). Infrastructure development has been one of the most important policy aspects (see Fazendeiro 2015 ).…”

“…Uzbekistan opted to preserve the active agency of the state and aspired to shape its investment policy through governmental interventions (Spechler 2000 : 295–303; Fazendeiro 2015 , 2017 , 2018 ). Infrastructure development has been one of the most important policy aspects (see Fazendeiro 2015 ). In fact, immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Uzbekistan’s independence, President Karimov attempted to re-invigorate the notion of the ancient Silk Road and construct the railroad from Uzbekistan to China (Karimov 1992 ).…”

“…To a great extent, Uzbekistan’s proposal to China about the potential for revival of the Silk Road in the early 1990s reflected the Uzbek government’s attitude towards developing its own economic model (for comparative analysis of East and Central Asian models, see Stark 2012 ; Thompson 2017 ). While this model has often been criticized for being based on “self-reliance” and isolationism (see Fazendeiro 2015 , 2017 ), its main principles resonate with the Chinese economic model, also referred to as China’s “Singapore” model (Thompson 2017 ) or “post-socialist development state” (Bolesta 2019 ). The five main principles of Karimov’s economic reforms referred to the priority of the economy over politics (ideology), the role of the state as the main actor (reformer) in economic activity, the establishment of transparency and rule of law, a social policy orientation, and, finally, a stage-by-stage transition towards a market economy (Karimov 1992 ).…”