This handbook is the first collection of comprehensive teaching materials for teachers and students of Central Asian Studies (CAS) with a strong pedagogic dimension. It presents 22 chapters, clustered around five themes, with contributions from more than 19 scholars, all leading experts in the field of CAS and Eurasian Studies.

This collection is not only a reference work for scholars branching out to different disciplines of CAS but also for scholars from other disciplines broadening their scope to CAS. It addresses post-colonial frameworks and also untangles topics from their 'Soviet' reference frame. It aims to de-exoticize the region and draws parallels to European or to historically European-occupied territories.

In each chapter, the handbook provides a concise but nuanced overview of the topics covered, in which way these have been approached by the mainstream literature, and points out pitfalls, myths, and new insights, providing background knowledge about Central Asia to readers and intertwine this with an advanced level of insight to leave the readers equipped with a strong foundation to approach more specialized sources either in classroom settings or by self-study. A list of recorded lectures to be found on YouTube will accompany the handbook either as instruction materials for teachers or visual aids for students.

European Handbook of Central Asian Studies: History, Politics, and Societies; Edited by Jeroen Van den Bosch, Adrien Fauve, and Bruno De Cordier; Columbia University Press; Paperback; 800 pages; $129.00

Bruno De Cordier is professor at the Department of Conflict and Development Studies under the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of Ghent University. Before, he was working for the international humanitarian aid sector, mostly for specialized bodies of the UN, and partly in different countries of the former USSR. His interests include social history, identity and social mobility, the social impact of globalization, the aid economy, and the social role and position of Islam, Christianity, and of religious actors in general.

Adrien Fauve is Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations at Paris-Sud University. Previously, he was a post-doctoral fellow at CNRS (2016-2017) and within Bruno Latour's FORCCAST project on active learning (2013-2016). For seven years, he has coordinated the Central Asia seminar series at CERI-Sciences Po with Karlygash Abiyeva, Olga Spaiser, Bayram Balci, and Olivier Ferrando (2010-2017). His research focuses on political sociology and international relations, with fieldworks in Central Asia. Recent publications include articles in the Nationalities Papers, Central Asian Survey, and Revue d'Etudes Comparatives Est-Ouest.

Jeroen J. J. Van den Bosch has a background in Area Studies (Slavonic Studies) and Political Science (International Relations). He studied at the Catholic University in Leuven; in Irkutsk (IGLU, Russian Federation); Cracow (Jagiellonian University); Moscow (Pushkin Institute); and since 2010 in Poznan (Adam Mickiewicz University). He was editor-in-chief of the political science journal R/evolutions: Global Trends & Regional Issues. Currently, at AMU he acts as coordinator of the EISCAS project and is assistant-coordinator in the EISIPS sister-project, also an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership. His research fields encompass theories of dictatorships, autocratic cooperation, democratization, political regimes theories, African politics (sub-Saharan Africa), and Central Asia.

CONTENTS: European Handbook of Central Asian Studies
	Foreword	ix
	Images Speak Louder Than Words? Historical Postcard Exhibition of Early-20th Century Central Asia	xi
	A Confusion of Tongues? On Non-Latin Scripts and Transliteration	xiii
	List of Abbreviations	xvi
	Glossary of Terms	xviii
	List of Boxes	xxviii
	List of Tables and Figures	xxix
	Concise Atlas & List of Maps	xxxi
PART I: INTRODUCTION		1
1	Central Asian Studies: A Maturing Field? Adrien Fauve	3
2	Defining and Delineating Central Asia from a European Perspective Bruno J. De Corier and Jeroen J.J. Van den Bosch	13
3	How to Use this Handbook: Didactic Vision and Study Guide Justyna Hadas and Jeroen J.J. Van den Bosch	39
PART II: IDENTITIES AND HISTORICAL ROOT		71
4	The Original Islamization of Central Asia: From the Arab Frontier Colonies to the 'Governorate Dynasties' (650-1000) Bruno J. De Cordier	73
5	Early Modern Interactions between Pastoral Nomadic and Sedentary Societies in the Central Asian Culture Complex Vincent Fourniau	117
6	Orientalism, Postcolonial and Decolonial Frames on Central Asia: Theoretical Relevance and Applicability Svetlana Gorshenima	175
7	Central Asia's Contemporary (Post-Soviet) Religious Landscape: A 'De-Secularization' in the Making? Sebastien Peyrouse	245
8	The Historical Conditioning of Languages and Ethnicities in Central Asia Gian Marco Moise and Abel Polese	291
PART III: SOCIETAL-POLITICAL DYNAMICS		325
9	Clans, Class and Ethnicity in Post-Soviet Central Asia Jeremy Smith	327
10	Presidential Elections and Ruling Parties in Central Asia Adrien Fauve	361
11	Political Regimes in Central Asia: Tracing Personalist Rule from Khanates to the Present Jeroen J.J. Van den Bosch	385
12	Civil Societies Development in Post-Soviet Central Asia Baktybek Kainazarov	451
13	Women in Central Asia: Decolonizing Gender Studies Rano Turaeva	499
14	Contemporary Central Asian Legal Systems in Developmental Context: Genealogy, Political Economy, State Architecture Scott Newton	537
PART IV: EXTERNAL INTERACTIONS		567
15	History and Evolution of Geopolitics toward Central Asia Slavomir Horak	569
16	Between Myth and Reality: The Restoration of the Silk Roads in Central Asia Sebastien Peyrouse	633
17	International Relations in Central Asia: A Focus on Foreign Policies (1991-2020) Catherine Poujol	685
18	Terrorism and Security in Central Asia Bernardo Teles Fazendeiro and Maria Raquel Freire	751
PART V: ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT		777
19	Facing the Soviet Legacy: Political Economy and Development Patterns in Central Asia Luca Aneschi and Julia Scwab	779
20	Environmental Geopolitics in Central Asia Natalie Koch	811
21	Labour Migration from Central Asia to Russia: Laws, Policies and Effects on Sending States Bhavna Dave	855
22	Between Sotsgorod and Bazaar: Urbanization Dynamics in Central Asia Suzanne-Harris Brandts and Abel Polese	885
PART VI: CASE STUDIES & OVERVIEW OF LEARNING OUTCOMES		923
Case Study 1: The Imprints of the Khazars by Bruno J. De Cordier		925
Case Study 2: Toponymy of Central Asia: Proper Names or Forged Concepts? by Svetlana Gorshenina		929
Case Study 3: Media and Personality Cult in Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Turkmenistan by Oguljamal Yazliyeva		939
Case Study 4: Promoting and Protecting Women Rights in Kyrgyzstan by Baktybek Kainazarov		947
Case Study 5: Railway Geopolitics in Central Asia from the 19th to the 21st Century by Slavomir Horak		965
Case Study 5: The Story of Makhsudbek ('Misha'), a Labour Migrant from Uzbekistan by Bhavna Dave		987
Overview of Learning Outcomes		923
INDICES		999
About the EICAS project		1019