29presence of a strong leader – the “father of the nation” – as compatible with the
national version of “democracy”.
There are several ways in which these discourses of legitimacy have contrib-
uted to the nation-building processes in Central Asia. First, they provided the re-
publics’ leadership with a platform for invoking their ideas of the nation in parlia-
ment and to the people. The narrative of national spirit, “father of the nation” and
defence of the nation against foreign and domestic threats have provided leaders
with an opportunity to strengthen the connections between their leadership, the
regime and the nation. The orchestration of regular elections has become another
way of enacting the nation. The very fact that large numbers of people come out
to cast their votes, even if the outcome is predetermined, contributes to the crea-
tion and maintenance of an “imagined community” which is the nation. These ef-
forts to create and popularise the idea of the nation through the discursive connec-
tions to images of democracy, have resonated with the Central Asian populations.
Popular conceptions of democracySurveys on public attitudes around the world have consistently showed that
a considerable majority in nearly every country favour democracy. Central Asia
is no exception. The majority of people in every Central Asian republic consider
democracy as a desirable system of government and express a strong preference
for living in a democratic state. Upon closer inspection, however, commitment to
liberal democracy is not as strong as it may appear. There is, for example, wide-
spread support for certain limitations on electoral accountability and individual
rights among nominally pro-democratic citizens. Large subsets of the electorate
from the Central Asian republics seem to be unbothered by the deficit of democ-
racy in their countries and support the idea of having a strong leader who does
not have to bother with parliament or elections. Across the region, presidents
receive more votes of confidence from the people than other branches of power
and political institutions.
Citizens do not view various communal restrictions on their rights as a viola-
tion of individual liberty. My own research in Central Asia has shown that a signif-
icant majority of people in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan do not regard
requirements to follow local, communal and family traditions, cultural mores and
ethical norms as infringements on their rights. They may dislike practices of hon-
ouring seniority and giving priority to the opinion of older people, but they do not
consider those as constraints on their freedom. Individuals often express willing-
ness to accept considerable limitations on democratic procedures and norms for
How Central Asia understands democracy, Mariya Y. Omelicheva Opinion & Analysis