Paper long abstract:

Central Asian studies face a turning point. After 40 years of scholarship in the social sciences, often started in a context where Central Asia was

first considered a periphery of more established regions in area studies (Middle East, Russia, China), there is now a vibrant community of academics who publish, teach specific courses or head curricula in various institutions. But I make the assuption that we all cope with specificities of national academic environments or markets, in terms of recruitment, grant proposals etc. This contribution will thus shed light on the situation in France.