Abstract

In the early 2000s, the principal challenge in theorizing peace and security in Central Asia was the limited familiarity among local scholars with contemporary theoretical developments in International Relations and Peace and Security Studies. Today, the situation has changed. A growing number of Central Asian researchers are well versed in Western approaches. Yet this increased engagement has not translated into a proportional growth of theoretical perspectives. The issue, therefore, is no longer access to theory, but the limited production of original theoretical contributions from within the region. This raises a pressing question: is it possible to develop regionally grounded theoretical approaches to peace and security in Central Asia?

Building on Buzan & Acharya’s (2007) question – “Why is there no non-Western International Relations theory?” – this open panel aims to foster critical reflection on the dominance of Western frameworks and to encourage dialogue on how Central Asian scholarship might contribute to global debates in Peace and Security Studies.

The panel approaches this problem through four interconnected dimensions. First, it examines how established Western theories of peace and security are applied in Central Asian contexts, assessing both their analytical utility and limits. Second, it explores moments of contestation, where local political practices, discourses, and historical trajectories unsettle the imported frameworks. Third, it engages alternative intellectual resources within the region, including religious, political, and strategic traditions, as well as contemporary decolonial reflections, to identify conceptual vocabularies of order, stability, and conflict. Finally, it asks under what conditions more autonomous forms of theory-building might emerge, contributing to the broader development of Peace and Security Studies rather than merely adapting existing paradigms.

The panel is guided by two central questions:

(1) How can existing theoretical approaches be meaningfully applied in Central Asian contexts?

(2) Under what conditions might autonomous regional theorizing emerge?

We welcome contributions from scholars in Peace and Conflict Studies, Security Studies, and International Relations who critically engage established theories, foreground local epistemologies, or reflect on hierarchies of knowledge production, aiming to advance critical, regionally informed theory-building. The discussions will feed into a specialized workshop and a planned special issue in a top-rated journal, ensuring sustained scholarly impact beyond the conference.