Uzbekistan’s Transformation: Strategies and Perspectives

Public Mobilisation 
Alongside a revamped personnel policy, popular 
mobilisation plays a central role in securing compli-
ance and legitimacy for the reform programme. One 
early sign of this was that the first reform year was 
dedicated to “dialogue” with society. Here the strategy 
hokims are elected by the local parliaments “after consul-
tation with the president”. 
95 At least according to the proposal for a reform of the 
Law on Local Governments: “Zakon o gosvlasti na mestach 
primut v novoy redakcii” [Law on Local Governments to 
be revised], Aloqada, 24 May 2019, http://www.aloqada.com/ 
News/2019/05/24/zakon-o-nbsp-gosvlasti-na-nbsp-mestakh-
primut-v-nbsp-novoy-redakcii (accessed 11 July 2020). 
96 “Poslanie Prezidenta Respubliki Uzbekistan Shavkata 
Mirzieeva Oliy Mazhlisu” [Text of President Shavkat Mirzi-
yoyev’s address to the Oliy Majlis], 24 January 2020, https:// 
president.uz/ru/lists/view/3324 (accessed 11 July 2020) (Eng-
lish: https://president.uz/en/lists/view/3324). 
97 Ibid. 
operates on two fronts: with the citizenry and within 
the state organs. Confidence in the state is to be con-
solidated by introducing the principle that office 
holders are accountable to the public, while reducing 
bureaucratic obstacles should create accessibility and 
make it easier for citizens to take their concerns to 
the authorities. Public events concerning the reform 
programme are to involve relevant population groups 
as well as representatives of the state. 
The organisation of such events is to be entrusted 
to specially founded organisations whose purpose is 
principally to mobilise the population for the reform 
programme. One of these “government NGOs” 
(GoNGOs), the DSC, has already been discussed above 
(see p. 13 f.). It runs information events on the topics 
and “results” of the reforms to create “a positive image” 
of the modernisation policy and also get on board 
those who “are still inactive and have not yet under-
stood that everyone should be participating and con-
tributing”.
98
Similar objectives are pursued by the Yuksalish 
(Progress) Movement, which was founded in February 
2019 – again by the government.
99
On its website 
Yuksalish presents itself as a “voluntary association” 
of citizens and NGOs seeking to inform the country 
about the reform programme and encourage popular