Central Asia Research Initiative (2001-2005)

The Central Asia Research Initiative (CARI) aimed at promoting progressive scholarship and teaching, and fostering international academic cooperation in the social sciences and humanities in the post-Soviet countries of Central Asia and Mongolia. CARI encouraged the linkage between scholarly research and teaching, to develop and introduce new approaches to and contents of teaching at institutions of higher education in the region.

CARI provided grants to young university faculty whose research and teaching interests lie within the following disciplines and fields: gender studies, history, human rights, international relations and security studies, law, media studies, political science, social and cultural anthropology, ethnology, ethnography, sociology, and social psychology. The grants supported individual projects, up to two years in length, whose goal was to conduct original research on a subject of relevance to the academic curriculum in the grantee’s discipline and integrate the results and outcomes of this research in teaching.

Aiming to extend the familiarity of the Central Asian scholars with state-of-the-art research and teaching in their disciplines and to integrate them with the broader international academic community, CARI linked the grantees with mentors. In consultation with the grantees, CARI selected as mentors established, internationally acclaimed scholars affiliated to leading academic and research institutions throughout the world. Mentors facilitated critical discussion and synthesis of scholarship on the subject of research, advised the CARI fellows on the fundamental and current literature and scholarly trends, and provided guidance and feedback on research methodologies and approaches to teaching in the fellows' areas of specialization. CARI promoted peer collaborative relationships between the fellows and mentors, via intensive communication at distance and exchange visits at each other’s academic institutions.

CARI supported approximately 90 individual projects since 2001. In 2005, following the recommendations of an independent academic review, HESP expanded and diversified the program by introducing the Central Asia Research and Training Initiative, which builds on the accomplishments of CARI and takes its mission further.

A list of the projects supported by CARI in 2001–2005 is available below. For further information about this program please contact:

Oleksandr Shtokvych
Program Manager
oshtokvych@osi.hu

Edit Köblös
Program Assistant
ekoblos@osi.hu