Turkmenistan

2 articles tagged with turkmenistan were found.

Covid-19 and the Politics of Authoritarianism in Central Asia

In this article, we compare the differing responses of the five Central Asian republics to Covid-19. We pay particular attention to how the virus presents opportunities to strengthen authoritarian rule within the region: for authoritarian regimes, the virus offers an opportunity to suppress dissent and strengthen authoritarian norms. While authoritarian states have recognised the spread of the virus in order to receive international humanitarian assistance, they have hidden the true number of infected and victims of the disease, as well as forbidding doctors to talk about the dangerous working conditions in hospitals, and imprisoning citizens for spreading false information.

By Edward Lemon and Oleg Antonov June 21, 2020

Turkmenistan presidential election 2017. A facade of pluralism

On 12 February 2017, the president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, won a predictably handsome presidential election victory with a margin of 97.7% and an impressive turnout of 97.28%. At first sight it might seem like just another Soviet-style election, with a solitary contender predestined to win a plebiscitary type contest. During this election, however, the Turkmen political elite constructed a facade of pluralism by running an unprecedented nine candidates representing three political parties.

By Donnacha Ó Beacháin Abel Polese, March 20, 2017