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The Geography of Central Asia

Human Adaptations, Natural Processes and Post-Soviet Transition

  • Provides a unique comprehensive analysis of the not very well-known region of Central Asia
  • Focuses on dynamic aspects of the changing reality for both human and nature
  • Represents an effective learning instrument for students of the regional geography of Central Asia and related fields

Part of the book series: World Regional Geography Book Series (WRGBS)

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxxii
  2. Premise: A Land of Extremes

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 1-13
  3. The Geographical Setting and Physical Environment: A Literature Review

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 15-29
  4. Geobiology, Bioresources and Biodiversity

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 31-50
  5. Ecological Base and Environmental Constraints

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 51-62
  6. Modernization and Corresponding Ecological/Human Ruptures

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 63-73
  7. Environmental Challenges in Globalization and Post-Modern Times

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 75-100
  8. A Historical Periodization: From Nature to Early Stages of Human Settlement, to Classic Age

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 101-118
  9. Modern Era and Modernization Processes Until the Soviet Collapse

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 119-154
  10. The Geographical Mosaic

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 155-190
  11. From Culture to Material Aspects

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 191-227
  12. The Material “Container”: Structural and Infrastructural Aspects

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 229-244
  13. Economics: From Micro to Macro

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 245-277
  14. Institutions and Politics

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 279-323
  15. Political Geography and Geopolitics

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 325-347
  16. Final Comments

    • Igor Jelen, Angelija Bučienė, Francesco Chiavon, Tommaso Silvestri, Katie Louise Forrest
    Pages 349-354
  17. Back Matter

    Pages 355-358

About this book

This book provides a profound geographical description and analysis of Central Asia. The authors take a synthetic approach in a period of critical transformation in the post-soviet time. The monograph analyzes comprehensively the physical and human geography as well as human-nature interactions of Central Asia with focus on Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Natural processes are described at a systemic scale, focusing on ecological impacts and consequences and contemporary human adaptations and organization. It also discusses in which ways the human organizations try to apply solutions for their needs such as security, territorial management and resources renewability, material and functional needs, identity elaborations, culture and communication.

The Geography of Central Asia appeals to scientists and students of regional geography and interested academics from other areas such as social, political, economic and environmental studies within the context of Central Asia. The book is also a very useful resource for field trips into this area.


Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

    Igor Jelen, Tommaso Silvestri

  • Study Centre of Social Geography and Regional Studies, Klaipėda University, Klaipėda, Lithuania

    Angelija Bučienė

  • Freelance, independent analyst, Udine, Italy

    Francesco Chiavon

  • Liceo linguistico, Istituto Gaspare Bertoni, Udine, Italy

    Katie Louise Forrest

About the authors

Igor Jelen is Professor of Political and Economic Geography at the University of Trieste, Italy. After five years in marketing and consulting he worked as a researcher in political and economic geography at the University of Trieste. In 2014 he received the habilitation as a Full Professor. He frequently travelled to the Central Asian post-soviet countries, where he also stayed for extended periods, organizing fieldwork, starting from the early 90’s. His further research topics are peripheral regions, especially remote and mountainous regions around the world, and corresponding development questions, borders and borderland questions and rivalries (e.g. the China-Russian–Central Asian borders), the European Union as well as other regional integration processes (especially form the point of view of security and defence), and globalization issues. Igor Jelen is a founding member of the ASIAC (Associazione per lo studio in Italia dell’Asia Centrale), and member of the editorial board of National Identities and of  the Journal of Geography, Politics and Society; in 1992 he was a visiting scholar at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, USA. And in 2011-2012 he was a visiting professor at the Leopold Franzens University of Innsbruck. 

 

Angelija Bučienė is Professor of Physical Geography at Klaipeda University, Lithuania. She received her Diploma in Hydrology at Vilnius University in 1975 and her Scientific Agronomy Diploma at the Lithuanian Agricultural University in 1981, where she also received her Doctorate in 1984. Her habilitation was finished at Vilnius University in 2009. 

Her area of expertise are agrohydrology, rural landscape geography, environmental geography and sustainable development. She taught many courses, e.g., geospheres and physical processes, landscape geography and management, physical geography, landscape ecology, regions and regional development, theory and methodology in human geography and maritime geography. She is a member of the Lithuanian Association of Geographers and of the Association of Soil Researchers of Lithuania. She also serves as member of the editorial board of “Geography and Education: Science Almanac”, the scientific journal of the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences. She was a visiting researcher at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in 1992 and 1994. In 1998 she was awarded a Swedish Royal Scholarship.



Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access