Lessons 4 · 1 lessons · N. Jo‘rayev, A. Zamonov. History of Uzbekistan (the period of independence): textbook for Grade 11 pupils of secondary schools and for secondary specialised and vocational institutions. 1st edition. G‘afur G‘ulom Publishing and Printing Creative House, Tashkent, 2018
4
Main stages and prospects of civil society development in Uzbekistan
Textbook: pp. 30–34
GoalDescribe the stages of civil society development after 2000, the five directions of the Action Strategy and the strategies that followed.
New words
non-governmental non-profit organisation (NGO) · nodavlat notijorat tashkilotAction Strategy: the 2017–2021 development programme · Harakatlar strategiyasiconcept: a broad system of views and aims for developing a field · konsepsiyapeople’s reception office where citizens bring requests to the authorities · xalq qabulxonasi
Explanation
In the early 2000s the official line was expressed in the principle “from a strong state to a strong civil society”, meaning that the state would hand certain functions over to public institutions step by step. On 12 November 2010 a concept for deepening democratic reforms was presented at a joint session of the parliamentary chambers; under the 2011 amendments, the party with the most seats in parliament was to put forward the candidate for Prime Minister (under the 2023 Constitution the President, after consulting all party factions in the Legislative Chamber, submits the candidate to that chamber for approval). In 2016 a virtual reception of the Prime Minister opened, a decree of 28 December 2016 created people’s reception offices, and 2017 was named the “Year of Dialogue with the People and Human Interests”. A decree of 7 February 2017 approved the Action Strategy for 2017–2021, with five directions: improving state and public administration, rule of law and the judicial system, developing and liberalising the economy, the social sphere, and security, religious tolerance, interethnic harmony and foreign policy. The next stages were the Development Strategy for 2022–2026 (28 January 2022) and the “Uzbekistan–2030” strategy (2023).
Worked examples
Example: ways to appeal — a citizen writes through the internet to the virtual reception or to a people’s reception office, the appeal is sent to the competent body and a deadline for a reply is set.
Example: the sequence of strategies — Action Strategy (2017–2021), Development Strategy (2022–2026), “Uzbekistan–2030” (approved in 2023).
Class activity
Strategy map: the class writes the five directions of the Action Strategy on five coloured cards and attaches one real-life example to each (school, mahalla, business, courts, security).
Practice
1
When and by what document was the Action Strategy approved, and how many directions does it have?
By the presidential decree of 7 February 2017; it has five priority directions.
2
What role should people’s reception offices play in relations between citizens and the state?
They let citizens bring an appeal quickly and directly, send problems to the competent bodies and keep track of the reply.
3
Why are non-governmental non-profit organisations an important part of civil society?
They act on citizens’ own initiative, not for profit, in specific social interests (education, ecology, social help) and serve as a link between the population and the state.
4
Which procedure did the 2011 amendments set for proposing a candidate for Prime Minister?
The party with the most seats in parliament (or parties with equal seats) proposes the candidate.