ABSTRACT
One issue that has not been adequately addressed in the disciplinary history of Comparative Politics over the years is looking at political processes from a cultural perspective. This is more so true in transitional societies where sociocultural structure is deeply embedded in the governance processes. It is in this context that analysing political systems in these states without looking at the cultural milieu makes the study quite hollow (Ross 2009: 140–143; Dean 2000; Helmke and Levitsky 2004). Five states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan) being the “cradle of an ancient civilisation” is a classic case in which sociocultural structures play an important role in shaping the political dynamics. In addition to the cultural factor, the geographical setting is also shaping the cultural matrixes of this region, which, in turn, contributes to the evolvement of a strong centralised political system. Some of the cognitive strands, like “perception”, “attitude”, “values” and “norms”, constitute the edifice of political culture, as defined by Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, and “shape the perception of masses towards the political leadership” (Almond and Verba 1963). The crisis or stability of the political system of respective states is partly determined by interaction between informal elements and institutionalisation processes (Hall and Taylor 1996; Helmke and Levitsky 2004). The present study is an attempt to critically examine some of the aforementioned trajectories to outline how far perception of political leadership is rooted in political culture and geographical setting. Second, the chapter will look at whether there is any divergence or convergence among the Central Asian states in the pattern of leadership. Finally, it will shed light on how the present-day political leadership is lending legitimacy to their leadership, which is often premised upon “patrimony” (Collins 2006: 16–21).
