DOI: 10.7256/2454-0641.2023.2.39970

Abstract: The problems of socio-political, cultural transformation of traditional society and modernization of the political system of Tajikistan have been in the focus of attention of Tajik and Russian political scientists since the independence of the republic. This article reveals some theoretical aspects and practical results of the post-Soviet transformation of institutions and modernization of the political system. The essential links between the categories "transformation", "modernization", "political transit", revealing the nature of the political and systemic transformations that have taken place in Tajikistan, have been established. It is concluded that the general trend for traditional societies engaged in "catching up modernization" is authoritarian methods of managing the modernization process, which is typical for Tajikistan. The topic of accelerating the modernization of largely traditional Tajik society and its political system is becoming increasingly relevant in the era of global changes in the world order. The contradiction between "tradition" and "modernity" is not only a clash of ideological and political attitudes, it is a question of the survival of power elites and the source of the development of the political system. The analysis of the vectors and completeness of the post-Soviet political-systemic and regime transformation of Tajikistan is relevant and important for assessing the resilience of the state and society to the growing global challenges and regional threats. The purpose of the article is to determine the typology, stages of processes characterizing the institutional, political, and social changes that have occurred over 30 years of independence. The goal is related to the research question: Is the current state of Tajikistan's political system and society the completion of the post–Soviet political transformation, the stage of democratic transit, or the next stage of modernization, institutional modification? We will begin the search for answers by considering the theory and etymological foundations of these categories.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0706.2023.1.39683

Abstract: The purpose of the article is to reveal theoretical and methodological approaches and some results of the study of the structure of the multidimensional political space of Tajikistan and its party dimension. Theories and concepts of political space lead researchers to believe that it is much broader than the framework of the political system, more complex than its organization and institutional content, as it consists of a variety of legal, political, social fields and spatial dimensions. The author is sure that the category "political space" has theoretical, methodological and practical significance for understanding the structure of the political system, the specifics of the political process in the country under study. It is determined that the main factors of the post-Soviet transformation of the political space of Tajikistan are the Constitution, the legal field outlined by it and the power elites as the driving forces of this transformation. As a result, a specific party system has emerged, based on the institutions of political pluralism, multiparty system with the secondary influence of parties on the political process. These factors have shaped the structure and boundaries of the modern political space in which illiberal but formally democratic political institutions function. Determining the stability of the institutions of the political system of Tajikistan and the associated political space is an important and urgent task. This Central Asian country, friendly to Russia, is a co-founder of the SCO, a member of the CSTO and has a long border with Afghanistan, a constant source of military-political tension, religious and ethnic contradictions in the region. Therefore, understanding and taking into account the specifics of the institutional and legal organization and functioning of the party-political space is not only a scientific interest, but also a significant aspect of foreign policy and inter-party relations between Russia and Tajikistan.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0641.2023.1.39684

Abstract: The article presents a structural and component model of the political system of Tajikistan, which has developed over 30 years of institutional transformation, analyzes the hierarchy and role of institutions that have the most significant impact on the political life of Tajikistan. The conclusion is made about the complete transformation of the Soviet institutions of the political system into a national institutional model combining democratic institutions and authoritarian practices. Over the 30 years of independence, Tajikistan has undergone a transformation of the political system and the entire society. By the transformation of the political system, we will understand organizational, value deconstruction, the transformation of former institutions and the reproduction of new political and state institutions, values, norms and social relations. The socio-cultural heritage of the socialist way of life and Soviet authoritarianism, the consequences of the brutal civil war laid the specifics of the genesis of the political system of Tajikistan. The institutional transformation initiated and carried out by the regional elites who won the civil war led to the construction and functioning of a kind of political system synthesizing democratic institutions and authoritarian political and administrative practices of government institutions. This phenomenon arouses scientific interest, which determined the subject, purpose and methodology of the study – the definition of the institutional content of the political system of Tajikistan and the identification of the specifics of its design based on the structural component model.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0633.2023.1.39865

Abstract: The article reveals the debatable topic of analyzing the balance of political, economic costs and benefits when choosing a responsible integration decision on Tajikistan's entry into the Eurasian Economic Union. The official positions of the government, expert opinions of supporters, skeptics and opponents of the country's participation in the economic union are considered. The argumentation about the adoption by the leadership of Tajikistan of a responsible political decision ensuring further socio-economic modernization of the country as part of the Eurasian Economic Union is substantiated. On May 29, 2014, the Presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Armenia joined the EAEU on January 2, 2015, and Kyrgyzstan on May 8. It seemed obvious that in the political and economic elites of the Republic of Tajikistan, the understanding of long-term economic and political benefits will prevail, their predominance over short-term risks of reducing customs and tax revenues, and the country will become the next member of this integration union. However, the leadership of the Republic of Tatarstan did not take the initiative to join the EAEU. For 8 years, the possible membership of the Republic of Tajikistan in the EAEU has been actively discussed in the scientific, expert community and the media, but the government structures of the Republic of Tajikistan have actually stopped in the integration movement, justifying this by the need for a deeper consideration of national interests, a detailed calculation of benefits and risks when joining the economic union. Let's agree that the analysis of the balance of political and economic benefits and costs is really necessary for making strategic development decisions.