CREES is delighted to welcome back Dr. Valery Dzutsati on Tuesday April 29 for a brownbag lecture titled "Ethnic Identity, Language, and Perspectives on Major Powers: A Study of Foreign Policy Orientations in Central Asia." The talk will take place 12:00-1:00pm in Bailey Hall Room 318.
While the desire of major powers for spheres of influence in smaller states has been extensively researched, the role of public opinion in such states remains understudied. Using a series of Central Asian Barometer surveys conducted in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan in 2017-2022, this study explores the elements associated with individuals' foreign policy preferences in lesser powers neighboring larger ones. We focus on the interplay between ethnic identity, language, and information sources that are associated with individuals’ views of major powers – China, Russia, and the United States. Our findings show that Russian-speaking members of ethnic titular groups (e.g., ethnic Kazakhs in Kazakhstan) view Russia and China less favorably and the US more favorably than other groups. On the contrary, when members of titular groups primarily speak their national languages, they reveal more favorable views of Russia and China, and less favorable views of the US than other groups. Our research suggests a complex relationship between ethnic identities and mediums of communication in explaining foreign policy orientations. Social hierarchies and path dependencies impact individual worldviews, while exposure to Russian media appears to have some influence on individual views.

Valery Dzutsati is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology at Southern Illinois University. His research interests include interstate and civil conflict, democratization, politics and religion, state-making processes, and collective action with an empirical focus on Eastern/Central Europe and Northern Eurasian countries. His articles appear in Central Asian Survey, Conflict Management and Peace Science, Nationalities Papers, Nations and Nationalism, Perspectives on Politics, Politics and Religion, Post-Soviet Affairs, Religion, State and Society, and Social Science Quarterly. The co-authored book Defection Denied: A Study of Civilian Support for Insurgency in Irregular War came out at Cambridge University Press in 2022.

Coauthors: Stephen Bloom, Oleg Golishnikov, and Odil Gafarov