Negotiating Well-being in Central Asia

Much scholarship of any region focuses on the perceived problems that hold back a population. Central Asia is no exception, as it is a region with political, economic, and environmental problems that seem to keep Central Asians from a better future. Alongside all the struggles of life, however, are relationships of meaning and wellness that contribute to a life worth living. Recognizing the struggles of everyday life, contributors to this book explore how people navigate relationships to find meaning, how elders attempt to re-establish morality, and how development workers pursue new futures. Such futures centre around the role of family, friends, and meaningful employment in yielding contentment; and the influence of Islam, ethnicity, and hospitality on community.

The first regional collection to take well-being as a frame of analysis, the contributors show how visions, spaces, and cosmologies of well-being inform everyday life in Central Asia. This volume will appeal not only to those interested in Central Asia, but more broadly to anyone concerned with how taking well-being into account better captures the complex realities of life in any region.

This book was published as a special issue of Central Asian Survey.