Borisov, N.A. Designing national ideologies. Stability issues of political regimes (Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan cases).

Abstract: The article examines the experience of two post- Soviet countries (Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan), exploring the main ways of legitimating authority during the process of forming of national states and solving political stability issues. The circumstances in which political elites form ideologemes to reinforce the legitimacy of political regimes and choose the means to spread those igeologemes are reviewed, as well as the preconditions for success in achieving relative stability, or failure to produce such legitimacy, resulting in destruction of the political system. The attention is drawn to the analysis of techniques, mechanisms and components of legitimation of political regimes, as well as factors of their political stability in a near perspective. The author points out that to legitimate authority during the consolidation process of a regime, the ruling elites turned to national ideologems as tools of legitimating in order to justify their claim for dominance. The lack of significant political rifts and notable actors of political opposition in Uzbekistan provided the ruling elite with an opportunity to spread a new set of values, virtually unhindered by opposition and by the process of democratic legitimation. In Kyrgyzstan, the attempt to synthesize structural and ideological legitimation (using archaic national and cultural concepts) has failed, which lead to severe damage to the existing legitimacy of elites and to strengthening and unification of counter elites on the basis of opposition to the values supported by the existing elites.

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