Introduction - Robert L. Canfield Part I, Repressions and their Consequences 1. Authoritarianism and Its Consequences in ex-Soviet Central Asia - Anatoly Khazanov 2. Localism and Identity among the Uyghur of Xinjiang - Ildiko Beller-Hann Part II, Ethnic Perceptions and Reactions 3. Central Asian Attitudes towards Afghanistan; Perceptions of the Afghan War in Uzbekistan - Peter Finke 4. Alignment Politics and Factionalism among the Uzbeks of North-Eastern Afghanistan - Gabriele Rasuly-Paleczek 5. Rebuilding Afghanistan - Thomas Barfield 6. Pukhtun Identity in Swat, Northern Pakistan - Charles Lindholm Part III, Devices of Mutual Support 7. Towards a Transnational Community: Migration and Remittances among the Hazaras - Alessandro Monsutti 8. An Interregional History of Pashtun Migration, c. 1775-2000 - Robert Nichols Part IV, Mechanisms of Authority and Influence 9. Political Games in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan: Factions, Protection and New Resistances - Boris Petric 10. Female Mullahs, Healers and Leaders of Central Asian Islam: Gendering the Old and New Religious Roles in Post-Communist Societies - Habiba Fathi 11. Efficacy and Hierarchy: Practices in Afghanistan as an Example - Robert L. Canfield

The people of Greater Central Asia have been drawn into more direct and immediate contact since the Soviet collapse. This work examines the viewpoints and concerns of a selection of groups in terms of four issues: government repression, ethnic group perspectives, devices of mutual support, and informal grounds of authority and influence.