The Role of Teahouses in Central Asia: A Case Study of the Ferghana Valley

AbstractTeahouses (chaikhana) in the Ferghana Valley of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan provide social benefits and help facilitate the development of civil society. Civil society formation in Central Asia does not operate in the same ways as conventional accounts of civil societies claim due to government control, interference, and repression. As such, civil society forms in the peripheries of society, outside the reach of government control. Through interviews and non-participant observations conducted in 2021 throughout the Ferghana Valley, I aim to understand the specific ways in which chaikhana operate in the social sphere, allowing civil society to function outside the government’s control and, in turn, laying the foundations for civil society development. This research determines that, although governments try to limit the ability of social networks and freedom of expression, these connections occur through meetings in social spaces, such as in teahouses. This research will fill the gaps in understanding why chaikhana are still allowed to operate, even though they are prime locations for the development of civil society. In summary, this research seeks to understand the chaikhana’s role as an integral component of Central Asian civil society and the ways in which it continues to operate under adverse governmental and societal conditions.