Normative Implications of "Development: Conflicting Modes of Knowing and Relating

Violence and tension-based social relations became an embedded part of everyday life within post-Soviet restructurings, guided by the overarching normative horizon of “development” culture. These relations are normalized with the prevailing vision of moving forward and making room for new and assumed progressive possibilities. For many families talking about change and catching up with the rest of the world or neighbor who lives next door has become a normalized pattern of knowing, relating and situating oneself and children. Yet, talking to people and observing their lives allow me to realize how many are going through difficulties of not being accepted, heard, understood and accommodated. These happen in all spheres of life, including family relations, as extended families with three or four generations are quite widespread in Kyrgyzstan. Their lives and relationships are ordered/negotiated through not just different, but sometimes competing and conflicting (also cooperating, when needed) knowledge systems coming from Tradition/re-invention of Tradition, new encounter with Islam, “Soviet culture” and Development culture (under the influence of dynamic economy). In order to understand these relations/relationships (violence and tension based); in this study, I focus on the daily lives of the people and address the following questions: (a) how “development” as an overarching normative horizon (for cultural and global integration) is experienced and perceived by people/different actors; how different actors talk/experience and make sense of it in personal, and emotional ways; how it shapes their lives and relationships; (b) what are the dynamics which contribute to how people know, talk and experience development; (c) what their daily fabric of life tells us in addition to power relations?