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POLITICS
Parviz MULLODJANOV
Parviz Mullodjonov, Director, the Public Committee for the Promotion of Democratic Processes in the Republic of Tajikistan (Dushanbe, Tajikistan)
The year 2006 will go down in the country’s modern history as a landmark year, symbolizing Tajikistan’s transition to a new stage in its development. The previous stage, which started with the signing of the Peace Treaty (June 1997) and lasted almost nine years, can be described as a post-conflict period: The republic moved from the chaos of a civil war to political stability and relative predictability in its domestic and foreign policy.
The new stage, which started with last fall’s presidential elections, is marked, first, by a strong centralized authority and an established balance of forces within the country. President Emomali Rakhmonov and his inner circle completed the concentration of powers in their hands; the United Tajik Opposition and warlords fell by the wayside, while the existing opposition movements are now the political fringe, unable to challenge the government. Second, whereas during the transition period, politics often took precedence over economics, today socioeconomic problems are taking center stage. Their resolution is crucial to the preservation of hard won political stability. Third, the distinctly pro-Russian orientation of the country’s foreign policy is giving way to a more balanced, multivector approach and the establishment of contacts with new geopolitical partners.
On the whole, the political situation in the country and the geo-political situation around it is favorable for socioeconomic reform and an inflow of foreign investment. Furthermore, this “greenhouse situation” (according to one Russian political expert) may continue for…………..
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