Central Asia at the Harriman

The study of Central Asia at Columbia is closely linked to the teaching and research of Edward A. Allworth (1920-2016), distinguished pioneer in Central Asian Studies. Allworth, an alumnus of the Russian Institute and longtime faculty member at Columbia University, was founding director of both the Program on Soviet Nationality Problems (1970) and the Center for Central Asian Studies (1984). The Harriman Institute holds an annual lecture in Allworth’s honor and funds the Central Eurasian Studies Society’s Edward Allworth Lifetime Achievement Award. Today former director Alexander Cooley’s research has Central Asia as a major focus, for example, in his book Great Games, Local Rules: The New Power Contest for Central Asia (2012).