National Identity and Political Legitimacy in Turkmenistan

In: Nationalities papers: the journal of nationalism and ethnicity, Volume 27, Issue 2, p. 271-290

Abstract

Traces political events & modes of producing political legitimacy in Turkmenistan since the collapse of the USSR. Turkmenistan was jettisoned from the USSR without the efforts of a grassroots political movement. However, Turkmenistan elites have been able to transition smoothly in the post-Soviet period for three reasons: (1) Soviet-made social institutions remained in place after the collapse; (2) a political & social elite that could run the government was maintained; & (3) the presence of a Soviet-trained nationalist-minded intelligentsia that could redefine & popularize a new national identity was continued. It is shown that Turkmenistan elites quickly embraced a new definition of nationalism after the collapse of the USSR. It championed itself as the representative of a new national sovereignty & drew on its propaganda skills to sell this vision to the public. Thus, it is concluded that the creation by the Soviets in the 1920s of a national republic equipped by a national elite in Turkmenistan has been crucial for developments in this state in the post-1989 period. 4 Tables, 3 Figures. D. Ryfe