November 3, 1995: Volume 35, Number 5

Inventing a Nation: Prof. Motahar on Tajikistan

Think of Tajikistan as the youngster away from home for the first time. Gone are the familial ties that provide security, money, even identity. Somewhat overwhelmed, perhaps, the youngster embarks on a tenuous process of self-invention.

So it is with Tajikistan, a small mostly mountainous, landlocked country north of Afghanistan, trying to invent itself in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union that was its family. Like other former Soviet republics, Tajikistan has had its share of problems since 1991: a devastating civil war and simmering ethnic and religious tensions, industry slowed by lack of spare parts, agriculture (primarily cotton) hindered by lack of fertilizer, a crumbling infrastructure, floods, and political uncertainty.

Also, there is a decided lack of foreign aid and investment. Enter Eshragh Motahar, assistant professor of economics, who, at the invitation of the government of Tajikistan, the U.N. Development Programme, and the World Bank this fall, conducted a month of meetings and seminars with economists and government officials in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. Also present were representatives from the United Nations, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other international bodies. Many of Motahar's meetings were held in a large, austere government building, complete with relics of the Soviet era, including a large altar where a bust of Lenin once stood. Motahar gave his talks in English with a Russian translator.

"They are somewhat bewildered," Motahar says of Tajikistan. "They need to develop their own set of priorities. They're a bit passive in that they expect foreign aid and investment to just flow in, and they assume it will be all to the good."

Among his recommendations, Motahar told officials to set priorities and capitalize on their assets -- a good cotton export (10th largest in the world), aluminum processing, and mining of gold, silver and uranium. He urged that they streamline the bureaucratic legacy of the Soviet era and establish a single agency, a "one-stop action center," for foreign investors.

Motahar also advised caution, pointing out that foreign investment requires a large investment by the host country, and that multinational corporations have shareholder interests as their primary goal. In addition, he explained problems associated with foreign aid. For example, Kenya had help from 18 countries in a large water project, but very little coordination. The result: a system, using 18 technologies, that was impossible to maintain.

Tajikistan's process of inventing a nation has been especially fascinating to Motahar, who intends to incorporate his experience into his international economics course. "Economics is not a lab science," he says, "but this is as close as you can get to experimentation." Motahar, some of whose research focuses on "economies in transition," keeps tabs on the country through his contacts there, via e-mail, and via Tajikistan's homepage on the Web. (http://www.soros.org/tajkstan.html)

And Motahar says the country of 6 million holds treasures for other social scientists -- anthropologists, political scientists, and sociologists -- who are interested in the emergence of a nation and an independent people.

Next Story >> Committee formed to review...