Call for Papers: Building Open Society in Central Asia & the South Caucasus

The Central Eurasia Project (CEP) seeks authors interested in contributing to a new series of occasional papers. The series will explore under-researched issues and trends that are important for OSI's efforts to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. As such, they will inform OSI's programmatic approaches in the region, but will also serve to introduce  these issues into the discussion of the wider community of policy makers, analysts, academics, practitioners and others who take an interest in that work on Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Long-term challenges to the development of open societies in Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus remain insufficiently discussed in the West. While there are a few outlets for high-policy related discussions or mediums that address academic questions whose practical value is limited, there is a need for a paper series that identifies challenges to open society and its supporters in Central Asia and the Caucasus, discusses potential approaches to achieve solutions, and opens these issues to the informed public for debate. While the Occasional Papers will primarily serve an OSI audience, they will also be distributed widely to the interested NGO, academic, policy-making and professional community except in special cases.

CEP is looking for contributors who are interested in authoring a paper of about 25 - 30 pages. Applications are welcome from individuals from a variety of backgrounds including researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and PhD students from the former Soviet Union, U.S. and Europe. CEP is especially interested in papers that would cover the following topics:

• Freedom of religion in Central Asia and the South Caucasus: Issues and Implications
• Understanding Islamic civil society in Central Asia
• China's role in Central Asia
• CASAREM challenges for Central Asia: Transparency, accountability and domestic energy security
• Public utilities (gas, water, electricity) issues in Central Asia and the South Caucasus
• The "war on terror" in Central Asia: Ramifications for human rights, societies and states
• Minority rights in Central Asia and the South Caucasus
• Civil societies role in legal remedies for environmental issues in Central Asia and the South Caucasus
• Implications of information and communication technologies for democratic governance and practice
• Cotton monoculture and agricultural reform in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

Proposals for papers on other topics related to open society values in Central Asia and the South Caucasus are also welcome.

To Apply

Interested authors should submit a complete application package consisting of:

• Proposal of the paper's topic, no longer than three pages
• Remuneration requirement
• CV
• Writing samples

All of the above must be in English.

Send via email to ceppapers@sorosny.org. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed by an expert committee.

Successful proposals should be finalized into full papers within two months; drafts will be peer reviewed before the final drafts are published. A limited amount of travel money is available for selected papers that require field research.

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