The Portrait of Kyrgyz Politics through the Prism of Opposition Activism

Abstract

This paper focuses on the explanation of factors that drive political opposition in authoritarian states. It looks deeper in the activism of the opposition in Kyrgyzstan during the critical events – shift from communism to democratic government in 1989-1994 and Tulip Revolution in 2005. The activism is explained through the Political Opportunity Structure (as an external factor) and Resource Mobilization (internal dynamics). Both theories help to explain the emergence, dynamics, and decline of oppositional activism in Kyrgyzstan. Such factors as availability of resources (money, staff, ideology) and favorable political conditions (loosening repression, state’s concessions) played key roles in defining oppositional activism. Besides, the research also captures certain peculiarities of the Kyrgyz political opposition, where political opportunities play decisive role for the opposition’s activities due to the weak partisanship system.