Crossing Eurasia: trans-regional Afghan trading networks in China and beyond. Issue 1 (2nd January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Marsden, Magnus
• Is Part Of: Central Asian survey. Volume 35:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 15
• Publication Date: 2016-01-02
• Subjects: Yiwu -- trans-regional networks -- Eurasia -- Afghanistan -- trade; Asia, Central -- Periodicals; 958.005
• DOI: 10.1080/02634937.2015.1070516
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-4937

Abstract

Abstract : An expanding body of literature in the field of Central Asian studies has brought attention to the problems of considering the region's complex dynamics through the lens of its nation-states. Comparatively less attention has been paid to the role played by trans-regional circulations in connecting parts of Central Asia to the wider world. This paper situates ethnographic work on trans-regional networks of Afghan traders in China, Central Asia, Russia, Ukraine and the UK in relation to the literature on trans-regional connections and circulation societies. Ethnographically it demonstrates the multi-polar nature of these trans-regional networks, and the importance of trading nodes, especially the Chinese city of Yiwu, to their formation and ongoing vitality.