Public Lecture by dr. Peter Plenta “Kyrgyzstan: The Island of Democracy, Instability and Unpredictability in Central Asia”

Public Lecture by dr. Peter Plenta “Kyrgyzstan: The Island of Democracy, Instability and Unpredictability in Central Asia”

IIRPS VU invites to the lecture by dr. Peter Plenta about “Kyrgyzstan: The Island of Democracy, Instability and Unpredictability in Central Asia”. Kyrgyzstan, the small and underdeveloped state in the heart of Asia, received the attention of academicians due to its “different story.” The country once called “Switzerland of Central Asia,” is now better known because of two revolutions and ethnic clashes. However, the country develops democratic/pluralistic political system with small but active non-governmental sector since 2010. We will focus on three aspects of the “different story”:

  • Openness to foreign ideas (with the focus on ideas coming from Russia)
  • Why authoritarianism in Kyrgyzstan failed (both soft and hard version)
  • Recent development and future of the country

Lecture will take place October 5 (Wednesday), 3 p.m., room 401. It there will be a discussion moderated by lecturer of IIRPS VU assoc. dr. Konstantinas Andrijauskas.

Dr. Peter Plenta is the Head of Department of International Relations and Public Administration of International University of Sarajevo and assistant professor at the International Relations program. He holds a PhD in political science from the Comenius University in Bratislava (2013). For his dissertation research, he did a field research in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. He participated in research projects focused on Central Asia, frozen conflicts, regional and cross-border cooperation, energy security and Central Europe.