Authors

Discussion

Since 1991, Uzbekistan, with 60% of its population under 30, has placed youth at the centre of nation-building to fill the void left by socialist ideologies and construct a new national identity. Schools, as powerful state institutions disseminating “official knowledge”, serve as the primary channel to instil new national values and patriotism. However, the relationship between education and national identity in Uzbekistan is largely underexplored. 

Grounded in post-structuralism, this qualitative, ethnographically informed study addresses the knowledge gap by examining how school education shapes youth national identities in a complex post-colonial setting where Soviet legacy, Uzbek traditions and Western neoliberal values intricately intersect. The study uses multiple data sources, including participant observations, photo elicitation, oral history interviews, focus group discussions and textbook analysis (G10 and 11 History of Uzbekistan, Upbringing (воспитание), and Military).

My analysis reveals that school discourses play a significant role in fostering Uzbekistani national identity by extensively drawing boundaries between “us” (Uzbekistan) and “them” (foreign countries and the colonial past). These discourses depict the Russian and Soviet colonial powers of the past as “antagonistic external others”, yet they do not reference any current state enemy. Instead, the “us/them” binaries are mostly hierarchical, positioning Uzbekistan as superior. While these discourses promote positive self-national images of Uzbekistan as moral, peaceful, independent and victorious, they contrast these images with inferior portrayals of “external others”. Notably, the West is depicted as immoral, and Islamic countries are often presented as conflict-prone and affected by religious extremism, emphasising Uzbekistan’s positive national images. Furthermore, the study highlights that national awareness and pride are reinforced through everyday school practices, such as assemblies, decorations and the singing of the national anthem, which contribute to naturalising a collective sense of identity and belonging. 

While acknowledging the complexity of Uzbekistan’s post-colonial context, where different values intersect, the study calls for less hierarchical representations of “us/them” binary discourses, which potentially normalise the negative stereotypes and even hatred towards foreign countries. Amid global instability and ongoing conflicts among diverse social groups, including between Russia and Ukraine, understanding the drivers of conflicts and inequalities and promoting peace through educational processes are crucial for both post-Soviet countries and the broader global contexts. This study thus attempts to contribute to scholarly debates on addressing grievances and tensions among diverse social groups while also strengthening social cohesion by critically analysing school discourses.