Rentier Capitalism and Its Discontents: Power, morality and resistance in Central Asia

This book explains and evaluates today’s economic, political, social and ecological crises through the lens of rentier capitalism and countermovements in Central Asia. Over the last three decades the rich and powerful have increased their wealth and political power to the detriment of social and environmental well-being. But their activities have not gone unchecked. Grassroots activism has resisted the neoliberal regime of private property and its harmful effects on society.

Providing a much-needed theorisation of the moral economy and politics of rent, this book offers in-depth case studies on finance, real estate and natural resources in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The authors show the mechanisms of rent extraction, their moral justifications and legitimacy, and social struggles against them.

This book highlights the importance of class relations, state-countermovement relations and global capitalism in understanding the social and economic dynamics impacting Central Asia. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in political economy, development studies, sociology, politics and international relations.