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This paper critically examines how the marginalization of the History of Economic Thought (HET) and pluralist economics in post-Soviet Central Asia university programs has reinforced neoliberal orthodoxy and constrained intellectual diversity in economics education. It explores the reproduction of neoliberal orthodoxy within economics education, where HET has been almost entirely excised from university curricula. Across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the wider region, economics departments largely replicate orthodox (mainstream) economics based on the neoclassical doctrine. These curricula reinforce a depoliticized, market-centered worldview that normalizes the structures of neoliberal capitalism and legitimizes existing hierarchies of knowledge, power, and re/distribution. As a result, students are trained to view economic processes as technical, ahistorical, and apolitical, rather than historically contingent and socially embedded. Drawing on my teaching experience at the International School of Economics at Maqsut Narikbayev University (Kazakhstan) and the OSCE Academy in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) at the post-graduate level, this paper argues for the reintroduction of HET and heterodox traditions as tools of intellectual emancipation and epistemic pluralism. I explore how teaching rooted in critical realism (Tony Lawson) and open-systems ontology and heterodoxy (Andrew Mearman) enables students to interrogate the limits of mainstream (neoclassical) theory and to link abstract models to real-world context. Modules based on a historical approach engage students with classical and contemporary debates on development, value, money, finance, austerity, free trade, competitiveness and the ‘independent’ central bank concepts and provide an overview of the plurality of majour economic ideas. The paper situates this pedagogical practice within broader debates on knowledge construction under neoliberalism, highlighting how the recovery of heterodox approaches, namely Marxian, institutionalist, post-Keynesian, and developmental, can democratize economic education. I explore the pedagogical challenges of re/introducing HET and heterodox traditions in institutional settings where neoclassical paradigms remain hegemonic. By embedding theoretical learning within the lived realities of post-socialist transformation, students begin to see economics not as a fixed science, but as a contested social field shaped by power, various ideologies, and historical change. Through classroom reflection and curriculum design, I demonstrate how HET not only enriches student understanding, but also fosters critical thinking, pluralism, and intellectual agency in the region grappling with policy orthodoxy and intellectual dependency. Ultimately, the paper argues that teaching HET in post-Soviet contexts is not merely an academic exercise, but an act of reclaiming intellectual sovereignty and fostering a new generation of critical, context-aware economists and intellectuals capable of envisioning alternative development futures.

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This study assesses Uzbekistan’s renewable energy targets, resource potential, and deployment capacity to evaluate prospects for closing persistent electricity shortages and supporting the country’s green economy transition. Uzbekistan, the most populous Central Asian state, faces limited non renewable reserves and seasonal power deficits that disrupt homes, hospitals, and businesses. Renewables, particularly solar, wind, and hydropower offer cost effective, low carbon pathways to enhance supply reliability and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, while creating jobs and stimulating local industry. The study examines how supply side measures and coordinated investment can help Uzbekistan’s renewable energy resources cost effectively reduce seasonal electricity shortages and improve reliability.

We conduct a three stage framework analyses: (1) Target analysis, reviewing national and international commitments and policy goals for renewable deployment; (2) Potential analysis, comparing solar, wind, and hydro resource endowments; and (3) Capacity analysis, documenting existing installed capacity, recent project pipelines, and grid integration constraints. Material includes datasets and visualizations drawn from IRENA, the IEA, the World Bank, and official national and multilateral sources, combined with recent project reports and policy statements to ground the findings in current practice.

Uzbekistan has strong solar potential, selective wind resources, and seasonally variable hydropower, each requiring specific integration. Small scale solar can quickly expand rural access, while large projects and storage are essential for stable urban supply. Key barriers include grid limits, financing gaps, weak regulation, and institutional constraints, alongside social and environmental factors such as land, water, and community engagement. Yet policy reforms, investment in transmission and storage, international financing, and stronger public private partnerships with clear permitting can accelerate deployment and reduce blackouts.

The paper offers prioritized policy recommendations to align national targets with feasible investment pathways and grid upgrades, including pilot programs, tariff reforms, and capacity building for regulators. We also highlight the need for further research on cost optimal project sequencing, resilience to climate variability, and socio environmental impacts to ensure an equitable transition. By connecting technical analysis with practical policy steps, our findings aim to inform policymakers, investors, local communities, and researchers working to advance Uzbekistan’s renewable energy transition and improve everyday energy security.

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In the present study, the focus is on the evolution of trade and energy relations between India and Central Eurasia from 1990 to 2025. Central Eurasia includes the countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, which have abundant natural resources like oil and gas. India is also a country with a highly growing consumer economy. The aim of the present study is to highlight the evolution of trade and energy relations between the two regions over the last three and a half decades and to understand the impact of the changing market situation, geopolitical situations, and the policy decisions of the regions on the bilateral trade relations between the two countries. The demand for energy imports by India and the supply of natural resources like oil and gas from Central Eurasia create a situation of interdependence between the two regions, which is always prone to the effects of sanctions, fluctuations in prices, and the use of alternative sources of energy like solar and wind power.

In terms of methodology, the study utilizes secondary data sources such as UN Comtrade, the World Bank, and the International Energy Agency, among others. These sources provide yearly time-series data, which is then analysed using econometric techniques including cointegration, VAR, and Granger causality analysis. This approach assists in differentiating between long- and short-term movements of the variables, thereby providing a more nuanced approach to understanding the relationship between India's GDP growth and its import of energy from Central Eurasia, as well as the response of the Central Eurasian economies.

The study contributes to the larger field of regional economics by injecting the spatial and geopolitical aspects of trade and energy into the analysis of trade between regions. The study recognizes the sluggish export growth of manufactured products by India to Central Eurasia while at the same time observing the rising trend of its import of hydrocarbons. The study also recognizes the vulnerability of the Central Eurasian economies to external shocks. From the perspective of the “spaces, societies, and power,” the study offers empirical evidence that encourages a new perspective regarding the economic relationships between India and Central Eurasia. Ultimately, it seeks to contribute to policy discourse regarding energy security, diversification of trade, as well as regional cooperation in a rapidly changing world.

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The China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway represents one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in Central Asia, with the potential to transform Kyrgyzstan from a landlocked to a land-linked economy. By shortening transit routes between China and Europe by up to 900 km and reducing delivery times by nearly a week, the railway could significantly enhance regional connectivity and trade efficiency. For Kyrgyzstan, whose economy is increasingly shaped by re-export trade and logistics, the project offers an opportunity to consolidate its role as a transit hub within Eurasian supply chains. However, the railway project also raises substantial concerns regarding financial sustainability and economic dependence. With total project costs estimated at up to $8 billion—large relative to Kyrgyzstan’s GDP—the investment poses risks to public debt stability, especially given the country’s existing reliance on Chinese financing. This paper argues that the railway project is neither inherently a “game changer” nor a “debt trap,” but rather a conditional opportunity. Its long-term developmental impact will depend on governance quality, debt management strategies, and the extent to which Kyrgyzstan can leverage the project to foster high-value trade ecosystems. Without complementary reforms, the railway risks reinforcing dependency and low-value transit roles, with them, it could catalyze structural transformation in Kyrgyzstan’s economy.

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The war in Ukraine has triggered large-scale migration flows. While refugee emigration from Ukraine has, for obvious reasons, received substantial attention, a less discussed issue is the shift in international migration patterns among other post-socialist countries. This paper provides a descriptive overview of these changes, examining their dynamics and potential consequences.

First, Russia has experienced a significant wave of outmigration, with hundreds of thousands leaving due to political repression, mobilisation, and deteriorating economic conditions. Some observers describe this as the largest wave of emigration and brain drain since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Owing to visa-free regimes, geographical and cultural proximity, the widespread use of the Russian language, and relatively low living costs, most emigrants have relocated to post-Soviet countries. As a result, several of these countries have seen improvements in their traditionally negative migration balances. However, the migration literature suggests that the effects extend well beyond a simple—potentially temporary—positive inflow, influencing host economies through labour markets, aggregate demand, fiscal outcomes, entrepreneurship, and innovation. A particularly visible example, widely reported in the media, is the housing market: given relatively inelastic supply in the short to medium run, migration inflows can exert substantial upward pressure on prices, which in many cases have remained elevated despite signs of partial out-migration.

At the same time, migration inflows to Russia have also changed. Russia has traditionally been a major labour market and a key source of remittances for migrants from post-Soviet countries, especially from Central Asia. However, worsening economic conditions, mobilisation risks, and both formal and informal tightening of migration policies have likely reduced the attractiveness and accessibility of this market. As a result, migrant workers are increasingly seeking alternative destinations, while in some cases remaining in their home countries, potentially increasing pressure on local labour markets. These shifts in both the volume and composition of labour migration may also have implications for the Russian labour market itself.

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The paper describes the peculiarities of the relocation of the old capital (Almaty) to the new one (Astana) as one of the important events of independent Kazakhstan. This event attracted, attracts, and will attract many publications from different points of view. Since that time, issues of growth of population in both cities based on migration (Mechanic movement) and birth (Natural movement) have been discussed in most cases. The paper reveals migration and birth of population in two cities due to political, economic, geographic, social, demographic, and ethnic factors. The theoretical and practical reflection of the Gravity model of the migration of population in two cities is analysed and presented.

The novelty of the work lies in the comparative analysis of the main causes or factors that influenced migration and birth processes in these two so-called northern and southern capitals of the country during one generation from 2001 to 2024.

The main tool of research and analysis is econometric Panel data analysis.

Finally, the paper concludes that an important factor of population growth in Astana reflected the gravity theory of migration of population from neighbouring regions like the Karaganda region. An important factor of population growth in Almaty was the mechanical and natural growth of the population. During the transitional time, the high immigration to Almaty was linked with a relatively high index of attractiveness of social infrastructure or the presence of a more numerous and developed educational infrastructure (schools, universities, colleges0 and healthcare systems (medical institutions, hospitals)

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This paper examines community-based resource management (CBRM) as a mechanism for climate resilience through a comparative analysis of commons governance in India and selected Eurasian regions, particularly Central Asia and Mongolia. It focuses on the ways in which local institutions regulate access to and use of shared resources such as pastures, forests, and water systems under conditions of increasing climatic stress.

The study is based on a qualitative and comparative approach, drawing on secondary literature, institutional analyses, and documented case studies from both regions. It engages with scholarship in development economics, environmental studies, and commons theory, with particular attention to the governance of common-pool resources. Case material from Rajasthan and Maharashtra in India, and from Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan in Eurasia, is used to examine patterns of institutional organization and adaptation.

The paper argues that CBRM systems across these regions share key governance features, including collective decision-making, customary norms, and community-based monitoring, which contribute to sustainable resource use. Practices such as rotational access, seasonal regulation, and shared enforcement mechanisms enable communities to align resource use with ecological constraints. While mobility plays a central role in Eurasian pastoral systems, Indian commons are largely characterized by settled resource management; however, both demonstrate the importance of social capital, trust, and locally embedded knowledge in sustaining adaptive capacity.

The findings also indicate that these systems are increasingly challenged by external pressures, including state intervention, market expansion, and the weakening of traditional institutions. At the same time, emerging arrangements that combine formal policy support with local governance structures show greater potential for sustaining resilience.

By situating the analysis within the broader literature on climate adaptation and commons' governance, the paper underscores the continued relevance of community-based institutions in addressing environmental change. It highlights the need to recognize and strengthen such systems within policy frameworks aimed at promoting sustainable and context-specific responses to climate variability.

Keywords: Commons Governance, Climate Resilience, Common-Pool Resources, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Collective Action, Institutional Economics.