Paper short abstract:

This paper examines how Ismaili Muslims living in Tajik Ishkashim use the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) to frame their present as ‘socialist’ but ‘post-Soviet’. By framing AKDN as a redistributive center akin to the former Soviet state, Ishkashimi Ismailis attempt to stabilize the economic uncertainties of free-market capitalism.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines how Ismaili Muslims from Tajik Ishkashim (Ishkashimis) frame their post-Soviet present as 'socialist' in the face of increasing socio-economic liberalization. One of the strongest advocates of capitalism in Ishkashim is the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a transnational NGO funded by USAID, UNDP and the World Bank amongst others. AKDN enabled the decollectivisation of land in Ishkashim and is attempting to increase efficiency of production so as to make Ishkashimis self-sufficient. Nonetheless, Ishkashimis see AKDN as a socializing force akin to the former Soviet state.

Ishkashimis remember the principles of 'redistribution' and a 'strong centre' as having characterized Soviet socialism. Moreover, Ishkashimis experienced Soviet socialism as an 'economy of giving', not an 'economy of shortage', since Ishkashim's strategic location bordering Afghanistan attracted unreciprocated Soviet investments. I suggest that Ishkashimis re-frame the capitalist principles advocated by AKDN as a redistributing center within the context of an 'economy of giving'. To demonstrate, I will draw on Ishkashimis' experiences of both AKDN's humanitarian aid, provided during the 1990s Tajik civil war, and its ongoing development projects, many of which strive to incorporate Ishkashimis into a market economy. For Ishkashimis, AKDN's founder, Ishkashimis' religious leader, is a paternalist figure who uses AKDN to redistribute wealth from affluent nations and 'give' to Ishkashimis when the Tajik state fails to do so.

Ishkashimis experienced post-Soviet change through a violent civil war. But they can numb the violent 'transition' to capitalism by using their newfound solidarity with AKDN to deny that they are post-socialist.