Rentier Capitalism and Its Discontents: Power, Morality and Resistance in Central Asia

Foreword: Central Asia’s Neoliberal Tragedy
Acknowledgements
Quote from Your Book
Contents
List of Tables
1 Introduction
	30 Years on—Time for a Critical Assessment
	A Southern Perspective
	Research Designs and Methods
		The Case Study On Credit/Debt
		The Case Study on Real Estate
		The Case Study on Land
		The Case Study on Natural Resources
	Outline of the Book
	References
Part I Theorising Rent Extraction
2 The Rise of the Rentier Class and Widening Social Inequalities
	The Rentierisation of Central Asian Economies
		Forms of Rent and Rentierism in Central Asian Economies
		The Significance of Rent in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
	Economic Inequalities
		Beyond Statistics on Low-Income
		Misery of Poverty
	References
3 Moral Economy, the State and Social Movements
	Moral Economy
		Some Moral Economic Distinctions
	The Double Movement
	The State as a Site of Social Struggle
	New Constitutionalism
	The Production of Crimes
	References
Part II Interrogating the Regime of Rent and Its Justifications
4 Financial Institutions: Interest, Power and Moral Justifications
	The Financial Sector in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
	Moral Justifications of Lending Practices
		Social Mission and Market Ethics of Lending
		Cultural Norms and Liberal Discourses of Lending
		Sanctity and Myths of Lending
		Alternative Methods of Allocating Credit
	Critical Discussion on Debt
	Conclusion
	References
5 Property Development: Improperty, Plutocracy and Criminogency
	Soviet and Post-Soviet Housing
	Housing as Improperty
		Property Developers’ Construals of Housing
		Income Extraction Through State Mortgage Schemes
	Struggles Over Income Extraction in Retail and Industrial Sectors
	National, Regional and Local Plutocratic Structures
		Politicians’ Wealth in Kyrgyzstan
		Politicians’ Wealth in Kazakhstan
	Criminogenic Environments in Public and Private Sectors
		Crimes in the Bishkek Mayor’s Office and the Construction Sector
		Crimes in the Almaty Mayor’s Office and the Housing Sector
	Conclusion
	References
6 Natural Resources: Transnational Capital, Constitutionalism and Environmental Harms
	Production Agreements and Investment Treaties in Central Asia
	Investment Disputes in Central Asia
	Foreign Investors’ Rights and Power in Kazakhstan’s Oil Sector
		Unequal Oil Contracts
		Struggles Over Contracts
		Environmental Harms
	Foreign Investors’ Dominance in Kyrgyzstan’s Gold Mining Sector
		Rent Appropriation
		Conflicts Over Surplus Value
		Environmental Damage
	Conclusion
	References
Part III Social Discontent Over Rentierism
7 The Right to the City: The Land and Housing Movements
	Rural Migration and Informal Settlements
	Asserting the Right to the City
	Neoliberal Urban Development
	State Repression of Informal Settlement Protests in Kazakhstan
		Opposition to Mass Evictions in Almaty
		Almaty’s Informal Residents on Borrowed Time
		Protests Against Gentrification in Nur-Sultan
	Grassroots Movements for Housing and Land Rights in Kyrgyzstan
		Housing Struggles in Osh and the Tulip Revolution
		Informal Residents’ Demand for Land and Legalisation in Bishkek
		Land Struggles in Osh and Bishkek After the 2010 Uprising
	Conclusion
	References
8 Confronting the Power of Money: The Anti-Debt Movements
	The Debt Problem
	The Affects and Effects of Indebtedness
	The Anti-Debt Mobilisation in Kazakhstan
		Resistance in Almaty
		Failed Alliances and Fragmented Movements
		The Mothers’ Movement in Nur-Sultan
	The Women-Led Anti-Debt Movement in Kyrgyzstan
		The Emergence and Development of the Movement
		Lack of Support for the Movement
		The Movement’s New Manifesto
		The State’s Suppression of the Movement
	Conclusion
	References
9 Fighting the Commodification of the Extractive Industries: The Labour and Environmental Movements
	Oil Workers’ Resistance in Kazakhstan
		Labour Unrest
		Enclaves and Subcontracting
		The Oil Workers’ Grievances and Strikes
		The Politicisation of the Workers’ Strike in Zhanaozen
	Anti-Mining Protests in Kyrgyzstan
		Local and National Opposition to Gold Mining
		Local Communities’ Environmental Concerns
		The Unequal Relationship between Residents and Foreign Companies
		The Politicisation of the Anti-Kumtor Movement
	Conclusion
	References
Part IV Evaluating Rentier Capitalism
10 Critical Discussion: Neoliberalism, Social Suffering and Resistance
	The Neoliberal Movement
	The Diversity of Rent-Seeking Practices
	The State’s Strategic Selectivity
	The Moral and Political Significance of Class
	The Unequal Countermovement–State Relationship
	Moral Evaluations of Rentierism and Its Outcomes
	References
11 Conclusions
	An Economy Fit for the People
	What is to Be Done?
	Rentierism During the Covid-19 Crisis
	References
Bibliography
Index