Authors

Discussion

The academic environment in Uzbekistan has undergone significant changes in recent years, with a growing emphasis on research. The government has implemented measures to internationalize higher education and research, including support for international publications, enhanced academic mobility and exchanges, integration of global institutional rankings, and the establishment of flagship research universities. While the research system still bears similarities to the Soviet model in its structure, there is a growing interest in adopting Western standards and measuring research output using Western-developed tools. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies that explore the challenges, tensions, and inequalities faced by academics, particularly across different generations (Soviet, Transition, and Westernized) in post-Soviet countries. This study aims to fill this gap by providing a systematic analysis of these issues. It seeks to examine the complexities of national research strategies, including the influence of the Soviet legacy, nation-building efforts, and the adoption of Western norms. Additionally, the study will explore the transformations occurring in the research environment and their impact on academics from different generations, shedding light on the obstacles they face, as well as the inequalities and tensions that arise. The research will address the following questions: (1) How does the combination of the Soviet legacy and contemporary internationalization efforts shape national research development?; (2) How do national research policies cater to the needs and aspirations of academics from different generations?; (3) How do national research policies contribute to tensions and inequalities among academics?; (4) How do academics navigate these inequalities?

This study adopts a qualitative approach to investigate the research experience of academics, combining macro and micro-level analyses. It examines the challenges and inequalities faced by academics, while considering the broader context of national research strategies. By studying publication policies, research incentives, academic recognition, and mechanisms for research collaboration, the study aims to understand the relationship between national research policies and the research engagement of university academics. Cultural political economy analysis is employed at the macro level, while Pierre Bourdieu's tools of field, practice, habitus, and capital, as well as the concepts of border thinking and decoloniality proposed by Walter Mignolo, are utilized at the micro level. Interviews with faculty members from different generations are conducted to critically evaluate their experiences and examine how they construct new epistemologies in an ever-changing world.