Abstract

This ethnographic account explores the economic adaptation of Afghan migrants in Kyrgyzstan, concentrating on how individuals navigate instability, mobilize social networks, and negotiate barriers. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews, the study critically engages migration literature to frame economic adaptation as a multidimensional process shaped by legal status, cultural context, and social capital.

Findings reveal that Afghan migrants first rely on kinship and ethnic networks for basic survival, gradually modifying and accumulating capital to achieve economic mobility. Despite restrictive legal regimes, many negotiate their status informally—collaborating with locals, utilizing proxy documentation, or maintaining strategic ties with officials. Language acquisition, cultural adjustment, and resilience in precarious labor markets further illustrate the complex interplay between structure and agency.

This account contributes to Central Asian migration studies by offering a grounded account of how displaced Afghans carve out economic livelihoods under constraint, challenging linear or state-centered models of integration.