Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov has approved a new national doctrine titled “National Spirit – Global Heights”, signalling a sharp pivot from liberal governance towards a collectivist and traditionalist framework, journalist Peter Leonard reports in a substack post.

The document, unveiled this week, positions national customs and spirituality as central to governance, relegating principles like the rule of law and meritocracy to secondary status.

The change is part of a wider trend amongst Former Soviet Union (FSU) republics that have cooled to the idea of Western sponsored models of a “values” led democracy and are promoting traditional “family values” often rooted in Orthodox conservativism. This can also be described as the Moscow consensus  that downgrades individual freedoms with more emphasis on the well-being of the state.

The Kyrgyz doctrine acknowledges the failures of the past three decades since independence, despite the country having been through three so-called coloured revolutions. At one point Kyrgyzstan was hailed as the only democracy in Central Asia, but the adoption of western liberal values failed to make people’s lives better and slide slowly back into autocratic and corrupt habits.

“The opportunities promised by independence did not become a common good, but they increasingly ended up in the hands of a minority.”

Critics, however, see the shift as a guise for consolidating power and eroding democratic freedoms. Kyrgyzstan’s Democracy Score, calculated by Freedom House, fell from 1.68 to 1.64 in 2024, reflecting the suppression of civil society, independent media, and judicial independence under Japarov’s tenure.

The doctrine’s rollout coincided with the National Kurultai in Bishkek, an annual assembly designed to provide a forum for government accountability. Yet the event showcased more adulation than scrutiny. Delegates praised Japarov and State Committee for National Security chief Kamchybek Tashiyev, with one likening Tashiyev to Manas, the hero of Kyrgyzstan’s national epic.

Tashiyev a central figure in the government’s tightening grip on power, and seen as a co-leader of the country, although he recently rejected suggestions that he stand for the presidency, claims to have eradicated organised crime, confiscating KZS50bn ($575mn) in illicit assets.

“We have severed the financial flows that funded the criminal underworld,” Tashiyev declared. “Now people can live peacefully, without fear of bandits. Businesses can operate without interference.” While such assertions remain unverified, the rhetoric underscores the administration’s narrative of moral renewal.

Despite concerns over governance, Kyrgyzstan’s economy has seen robust growth, with GDP expanding by 9% in the first 11 months of 2024, according to the National Statistics Committee. President Japarov touted the tripling of the state budget since 2020 to a projected KZS687bn ($7.9bn). However, much of this success stems from heavy infrastructure spending rather than private-sector vitality. Foreign direct investment fell by 30% in 2023, with China accounting for a third of the inflows.

The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom ranked Kyrgyzstan 112th out of 184 countries, citing weak property rights and judicial effectiveness. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index also reflected a decline in governance standards.

While Japarov and Tashiyev promote their vision of a corruption-free Kyrgyzstan guided by traditional values, critics argue that the doctrine risks embedding cronyism and authoritarianism. The “National Spirit” may resonate domestically, but whether it leads to the “Global Heights” promised remains uncertain. For now, Kyrgyzstan’s trajectory seems poised between progress and regression, as the nation reconciles its ideological ambitions with economic and democratic realities.