Democratically Digging Together: A Study of Archaeology and Civil Society
Protecting archaeological sites increases the sense of belonging among the population. Political culture in authoritarian countries limits citizens’ opportunities for freedom of action and civic engagement. The authorities may perceive such engagement as a threat to the regime. Nevertheless, civic a...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Eurasian Studies |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/18793665241270821 |
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| _version_ | 1850069774725283840 |
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| author | Neil Collins Paula N Doumani Dupuy Altynay Zamanbekova |
| author_facet | Neil Collins Paula N Doumani Dupuy Altynay Zamanbekova |
| author_sort | Neil Collins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Protecting archaeological sites increases the sense of belonging among the population. Political culture in authoritarian countries limits citizens’ opportunities for freedom of action and civic engagement. The authorities may perceive such engagement as a threat to the regime. Nevertheless, civic activism in protecting archaeological sites can provide an opportunity to increase the role of civil society in policymaking. This article interrogates civil society’s role concerning archaeology and its preservation in Kazakhstan. It considers three cases of how local communities participate in archaeological projects and their protection. It concludes that the degree of community involvement and the number of people involved in rural and urban settings differ. Kazakhstan occasionally manifests vigorous civic activity on archaeological issues at the national level. However, a certain level of resistance may demonstrate the potential for democratic development, with archaeology as one of the practical tools of civil liberty at the grassroot level. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ab3ceb441e0547db841dfafd4887224f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1879-3665 1879-3673 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Eurasian Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-ab3ceb441e0547db841dfafd4887224f2025-08-20T02:47:42ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Eurasian Studies1879-36651879-36732025-08-011610.1177/18793665241270821Democratically Digging Together: A Study of Archaeology and Civil SocietyNeil CollinsPaula N Doumani DupuyAltynay ZamanbekovaProtecting archaeological sites increases the sense of belonging among the population. Political culture in authoritarian countries limits citizens’ opportunities for freedom of action and civic engagement. The authorities may perceive such engagement as a threat to the regime. Nevertheless, civic activism in protecting archaeological sites can provide an opportunity to increase the role of civil society in policymaking. This article interrogates civil society’s role concerning archaeology and its preservation in Kazakhstan. It considers three cases of how local communities participate in archaeological projects and their protection. It concludes that the degree of community involvement and the number of people involved in rural and urban settings differ. Kazakhstan occasionally manifests vigorous civic activity on archaeological issues at the national level. However, a certain level of resistance may demonstrate the potential for democratic development, with archaeology as one of the practical tools of civil liberty at the grassroot level.https://doi.org/10.1177/18793665241270821 |
| spellingShingle | Neil Collins Paula N Doumani Dupuy Altynay Zamanbekova Democratically Digging Together: A Study of Archaeology and Civil Society Journal of Eurasian Studies |
| title | Democratically Digging Together: A Study of Archaeology and Civil Society |
| title_full | Democratically Digging Together: A Study of Archaeology and Civil Society |
| title_fullStr | Democratically Digging Together: A Study of Archaeology and Civil Society |
| title_full_unstemmed | Democratically Digging Together: A Study of Archaeology and Civil Society |
| title_short | Democratically Digging Together: A Study of Archaeology and Civil Society |
| title_sort | democratically digging together a study of archaeology and civil society |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/18793665241270821 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT neilcollins democraticallydiggingtogetherastudyofarchaeologyandcivilsociety AT paulandoumanidupuy democraticallydiggingtogetherastudyofarchaeologyandcivilsociety AT altynayzamanbekova democraticallydiggingtogetherastudyofarchaeologyandcivilsociety |