Identity Transformation and Authority Reconstruction: The Social Organization of Dungan Elites in Central Asia after the Colllapse of the USSR

Abstract

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the construction of nation-states, the evolution of market economies as well as the religious revival gradually unfolded across Central Asia, profoundly impacting the living conditions, social identities, and authority of individuals and groups. This research draws on the fieldwork conducted among the Dungans in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan from September 2014 to July 2015 and in late July of 2017, to explore how different types of Dungan elites have navigated identity transformations and constructed authority in response to the “new context” of Central Asia. It is found that the post-Soviet era has led to a reorganization of Dungan elites with merchants and religious figures emerging as the primary group. While intellectuals and public officials still wield social influence, their numbers have relatively declined. Some individuals and groups from lower social strata have successfully transitioned into the elite ranks by leveraging economic, social and cultural resources. Those who occupied higher social levels during the Soviet period have either consolidated their social authority by reorganizing societal resources, or gained prestige through personal conduct, or slipped into lower social tiers amid the reconfiguration of social elites. Therefore, the process of organizing Dungan elite authority is completed through the interplay of cooperation and competition among various groups. This dynamic of cooperation and competition forms the fundamental characteristics of the authority organization process among the Dungan elites, and is closely linked to the intertwined political, economic, religious, social and cultural factors in the post-Soviet “new context” of Central Asia.