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Internationalization of Higher Education in Kyrgyzstan
Dogochieva, Tolgonay ; Kohoutek, Jan (advisor) ; Paulus, Michal (referee)
The aim of this research is to find general trends and rationales for internationalization of higher education in Kyrgyzstan. The conceptual framework for this work is based on concepts developed by Knight and de Wit, Knight (2004). It used qualitative research, including secondary data and interviews. Although not very widely but internationalization became part of Kyrgyzstan higher education. There are student and staff mobility programs; the country hosts branches of foreign universities. Kyrgyzstan universities are creating extensive networks with world universities. Bologna process played major role in incorporating Kyrgyzstan education system to the world educational community. Kyrgyzstan has acquired international standards in terms of two-level cycle and credit hours. Along with that higher education is still facing problems and challenges. Corruption and low quality are among them. The study found that the most important rationale for internationalization is educational rationale. It is believed that internationalization improves academic quality. Economic, political and cultural/social rationales are also important.
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Eurasian Economic Union: Towards Economic Prosperity, or towards Power Gains?
Pavlíček, Tomáš ; Parízek, Michal (advisor) ; Kučerová, Irah (referee)
The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) emerged more than one year ago but so far there has been no consensus on the nature and the main aspects of the cooperation. Whereas some observers underline pure economic incentives of the integration, others see the regional organization as a tool for increasing the power of the strongest members, and especially Russia. Strongly echoed in public discourse is a comparison to the former Soviet Union. To tackle the issue, the thesis asks: What are the main motives for participation in the project? Which main benefits are expected by the members to be gained? These questions are answered through a content analysis of verbal expressions of five presidents who hold the main decision-making powers in EEU's member states. Based on theoretically generated analytical categories, the thesis conducts a quantitative analysis of the discourse, which is then discussed in the context of the post-Soviet space. The findings reveal the motives which the presidents use to legitimize the membership and show the main cleavages that threaten to undermine the development of the organization.
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Chinese Economic Statecraft in Central Asia: the Case of Kyrgyzstan
Michalová, Anežka ; Horák, Slavomír (advisor) ; Šír, Jan (referee)
This work delves into the modalities of Chinese economic incentives and their reception in Kyrgyzstan. After tracing the rise of China as the main economic power in Central Asia since 2000, it uses Blanchard's and Ripsman's theory of economic statecraft to evaluate Kyrgyzstan's level of stateness and its susceptibility to economic inducements during president Atambayev's era. The objective is to address the issue of economic statecraft from the perspective of the target state and explain why Kyrgyzstan's co-operation with China has been less successful than in the case of other Central Asian countries. Kyrgyzstan's overall level of stateness was low but it did not result in compliance with Chinese demands. Instead, the low level of stateness prevented the government from overcoming domestic resistance to Chinese projects and implementing compliant behavior. Developmental aid and investment designed to favor the expansion of Chinese enterprises failed to gain the support of public opinion and contributed to the rise of anti-Chinese sentiment due to their involvement in corruption affairs and public scandals. Russia as a third-party actor represented an alternative for Kyrgyz policymakers and might have supported the resistance to Chinese endeavors.
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Chinese development assistance in Central Asia
Mlíková, Anna ; Ficek, František (advisor) ; Horálek, Adam (referee)
This bachelor thesis examines Chinese development assistance in Central Asia, specifically in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Over the past few years China has become the largest donor in the region, which contributes to China's growing influence. This thesis sets out to explain political motives of Chinese development assistance and analyse Chinese projects in the countries. In this thesis I explain the traditional concepts of development aid and the Chinese alternative, I also describe the development of foreign relations of the People's Republic of China with the countries of Central Asia, and Chinese activities and interests in the region. In my own analysis, I examine the allocation of Chinese development assistance by sector, and total amount of funding distributed according to traditional and Chinese definitions of development cooperation. The main result of this thesis is that the provision of Chinese development assistance in the region is determined primarily by China's own strategic and political interests, rather than altruistic interest in economic growth and improvement of living conditions in the countries of interest. Key words: development assistance, China, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, political influence, Belt and Road Initiative
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Glacial Outburst Lakes in Kyrgyzstan (case study: Glacier Complex Adygine)
Falátková, Kristýna
In the context of changing climate retreat of mountain glaciers occurs at many places on the planet. One of the consequences is emergence or increase of the outburst risk at lakes situated in front of the glacier terminus. Flood caused by the glacial lake outburst often appear suddenly and can threaten settlements in lower parts of a valley. In the Kyrgyz mountains of Tien Shan there are about 350 lakes at risk of outburst, long-term monitored and dangerous locations are presented in this work. The highest attention is paid to Adygine area where several lakes of different genetic type and age can be found. The largest lake of the locality, the Upper Adygine lake, is subjected to more detailed survey aiming to asses its hydrological regime and to confirm or disprove speculation about outburst possibility of this lake. Keywords: glacial lake, hydrological regime, glacier retreat, Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan
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Runoff development in selected catchments in the Kyrgyz Range, Tian-Shan
Jedličková, Šárka ; Šobr, Miroslav (advisor) ; Janský, Bohumír (referee)
The main objective of this paper was to investigate runoff changes in the catchment Ala-Arca, Alamaedin and Kara-Balta in Kyrgyzstan, as well as change in climate conditions from available stations in the area. The runoff, precipitation, and temperature series were subjected to monthly, seasonal and annual analyses based on available data. Both absolute and relative data homogeneity were verified using statistical tests such as the Mann-Whitney-Pettit test, the SNHT test, and the WiIlcoxon's two- sample test for absolute homogeneity, and the Alexandersson's test for relative homogeneity. The Mann-Kendall test was used to determine the trend in each serie. There were inhomogeneities found in a number of runoff data. In most cases, the changes of rivers Ala-Arca and Kara-Balta were recorded in 1987. Compare to Ala-Arca and Kara-Balta, the changes of river Alamedin were recorded 3 years later, in 1990. There was a positive trend development by the rivers with the glacial-snow regime. However, there was no statistically significant trend for the entire time series. Key words: runoff change, precipitation, temperature, glacial-snow regime, snow-glacial regime, homogenization, Mann-Whitney-Pettit test, trend, Mann-Kendall test, glaciation, Kyrgyzstan, Tien- Shan
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Central Asian Foreign Fighters in Syria
Nováková, Sabina ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Záhora, Jakub (referee)
This thesis deals with the phenomenon of Central Asian foreign fighters in Syria, 2011- 2017. It analyzes their radicalization, recruitment, and travel patterns. Special emphasis is placed on tracking the home states' responses, including elements of de-radicalization and counter-radicalization. The thesis has found that there is arguably no single factor explaining the Central Asian fighters' radicalization; nor is there a typical profile of a Central Asian fighter. Available data suggest that radicalization and extremist recruitment most often occur in Russia. Furthermore, the analysis of travel patterns has shown that the majority of Central Asian fighters traveled to Syria either indirectly via multiple countries (again, most often Russia) or directly from their country of origin, and then crossed the border from Turkey. The thesis concludes that all five Central Asian states have adopted policies to address the perceived security threat of returning foreign fighters, whereas the hard, restrictive and punitive approach has been prevalent all across the region.
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Analysis of the influence of "cursed natural resources" on the economic and political development of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan after the disintegration of the Soviet Union
Hejzdral, Miroslav ; Jelen, Libor (advisor) ; Horák, Slavomír (referee)
The master thesis deal with relation between socioeconomic and political development in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and their dependence on extraction of oil, respectively on gold. These raw materials are thought to be their major export products. The aim is to determine the impact of raw material extraction on the macroeconomic development of the countries and the widening of their regional differences and to try to explain the declining or stagnant level of democracy in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan by means of the theoretical concept of resource curse. Methodologically, the thesis is done on the basis of statistical analysis of economic indicators such as GDP, HDI, foreign investment, remittances and world prices of raw materials. For a better understanding of regional differences, simple statistical methods such as index of change and the Gini coefficient were used. The work also analyzed the political development using indicators from Freedom House, Human Freedom and The Economist Intelligence Unit that measure the level of democracy and freedom. Interpretation of results is based on previous research of specialized literature and other media sources specializing on selected area. As a result, the very close linkage between macroeconomic development and...
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Glacial Outburst Lakes in Kyrgyzstan (case study: Glacier Complex Adygine)
Falátková, Kristýna
In the context of changing climate retreat of mountain glaciers occurs at many places on the planet. One of the consequences is emergence or increase of the outburst risk at lakes situated in front of the glacier terminus. Flood caused by the glacial lake outburst often appear suddenly and can threaten settlements in lower parts of a valley. In the Kyrgyz mountains of Tien Shan there are about 350 lakes at risk of outburst, long-term monitored and dangerous locations are presented in this work. The highest attention is paid to Adygine area where several lakes of different genetic type and age can be found. The largest lake of the locality, the Upper Adygine lake, is subjected to more detailed survey aiming to asses its hydrological regime and to confirm or disprove speculation about outburst possibility of this lake. Keywords: glacial lake, hydrological regime, glacier retreat, Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan
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