Fan Christian Jiang Geneva, 22nd December 2023
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[RI-SP167–MINT384] Time in Contemporary Politics
End-of-Semester Assignment: Op-Ed
Kyrgyz Shepherds in Rural Sardinia:
Are They the ‘Chosen Ones’?
[800 words]
From Karakol to Cagliari. Despite sounding outlandishly unlikely, this connection may soon become reality!
On the one end, we have a mountainous, post-Soviet nation—known by many only for its notoriously hard,
spelling-bee-worthy name—and, on the other, a declining insular society heavily affected by depopulation.
Yet, Coldiretti (Italy’s federation of farmers) and the Kyrgyz ambassador Taalai Bazarbaev have recently been
negotiating on the possibility of settling sixty Kyrgyz families in rural Sardinia, to promote the local pastoral
economy and to halt demographic decline (DEL FRATE, 2023). Pursuing a certain line of action in the present
to obtain desired outcomes in the future . . . This is none other than a game of predictions! But this approach
is, in my opinion, ahistorical. Here’s why.
The historical interpretation adopted by most articles on the matter is simple and linear: the path
followed by development inevitably leads to industrialisation. It is accompanied by a steady depletion of
people and workforce in the countryside, where the new generations are more interested in moving to cities
rather than upholding the old pastoral ways. This happened to the Sardinians native to the island, as well as to
the Albanians and Montenegrins who had been called to replace them: as their homelands started developing
as well, they too left the declining Sardinian countryside (‘IN SARDEGNA . . .’, 2023). This view of history,
strongly tied to development and economic growth, is reminiscent of ROSTOW’s (1960/1990) model, which,
thanks to its simple linearity, neatly divides history in chunks—i.e., the so-called ‘five stages of growth’ (p.
4). Although it has been contested by critical literature since its inception in the ’60s, this approach still enjoys
a certain popularity, as shown by the articles linked above.
I believe that this historical representation is, in fact, ahistorical. Because of universal, exogenous
factors such as economic growth, Sardinians, Albanians and Montenegrins are leaving their rural realities in
search of better remunerated jobs. This is a predictable development sequence, which situates Sardinia’s
struggle with depopulation in a constantly accelerating environment. In a society that ‘systematically requires
growth, innovation and acceleration for its structural reproduction’ (ROSA, 2017, p. 438), Sardinia is inevitably
Fan Christian Jiang Geneva, 22nd December 2023
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left behind. Why would the Kyrgyz shepherds be any different? Would they not succumb to the temptations
of economic growth too?
Luca Saba, the regional Coldiretti director, claims that there is a key difference, and his argument may
bring history back into this ahistorical framework. When talking about the Kyrgyz, he said, ‘[We found] a
countryside people who live in harmony with their animals, sharing many commonalities with Sardinian
culture’ (‘LA SARDEGNA . . .’, 2023).
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These alleged cultural similarities make the Kyrgyz the best option to
repopulate rural Sardinia, separating them from their Albanian and Montenegrin predecessors. In his ‘process
sequencing’ model, HAYDU (1998) shows how, while enduring problems constitute historical continuity, it is
their ‘contingent solutions’ that ‘[regenerate] the historical individuality of each period’ (p. 354). The Kyrgyz
are different, and this is precisely what will ‘save’ Sardinia.
I do think, however, that the explanation offered by Saba is equally ahistorical. This is what he says
about Africans: ‘. . . for objective reasons, because of their unfamiliarity with sheep farming, they are not good’
(‘LA SARDEGNA . . .’, 2023).
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Coldiretti starts from the premise that the Kyrgyz will not change: they will
remain great shepherds; meanwhile, Africans will never become skilled herdsmen (N.B.: Africa has 1.4 billion
inhabitants and is incredibly diverse!). This is basically cultural essentialism, which ‘naturalises categories of
groupness’ (WEDEEN, 2002, p. 715). Culture is utilised to justify traits and behaviours, while change is seen
as unlikely. This approach flattens all groups—Kyrgyz, Africans, etc.—reducing them to monolithic categories
that can be used to reach desired, predictable outcomes.
So far, we have been positing an environment whose exogenous shocks straightforwardly lead to
endogenous repercussions. Then, the Kyrgyz, like the Albanians and Montenegrins, may leave because of
(exogenous) growth elsewhere. Is it, instead, possible to try and give agency back to what is endogenous?
HOGAN (2019) describes the concept of ‘ideational change element’ (p. 184), which effectively endogenises
change by characterising endogenous actors as holders of ideas (interests, preferences and actions) and, thus,
as agents of change. Instead of simply reacting to outside influence, the Kyrgyz will be able to decide on which
course of action to take. And this will vary between individuals, as it would be too simplistic to talk in terms
of uncontested, uniform groups.
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‘. . . un popolo delle campagne che vive in simbiosi con i loro animali, con molti punti in comune con la cultura sarda.’
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‘[. . . gli africani], per ragioni oggettive, per la loro poca dimestichezza nell’allevamento ovino, non vanno bene.’
Fan Christian Jiang Geneva, 22nd December 2023
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This complicates the notion of prediction we started with. In an ahistorical framework, predictions are
straightforward enough. However, by complicating this starting point, we will inevitably end up with a little
too many variables to juggle with. Perhaps we should simply wait, and see what these ‘Kyrgyz seeds’ sown
by Coldiretti will bring about.
REFERENCES:
• ‘In Sardegna i nuovi pastori arrivano dal Kirghizistan’ (2023, September 22nd), in Today Attualità.
<https://www.today.it/attualita/sardegna-nuovi-pastori-kirghizistan.html>
• ‘La Sardegna ospiterà un centinaio di pastori del Kirghizistan’ (2023, September 18th), in Il Post.
<https://www.ilpost.it/2023/09/18/pastori-kirghizistan-sardegna/>
• DEL FRATE, C. (2023, September 22nd), ‘La Sardegna non trova più pastori, li farà arrivare dal
Kirghizistan’, in Corriere della Sera. <corriere.it/economia/aziende/23_settembre_22/sardegna-non-trova-
piu-pastori-li-fara-arrivare-kirghizistan-7c509418-5933-11ee-90e0-15e6a48bab11.shtml>
• HAYDU, J. (1998), ‘Making Use of the Past: Time Periods as Cases to Compare and as Sequences of
Problem Solving’, in American Journal of Sociology, 104(2).
• HOGAN, J. (2019), ‘The Critical Juncture Concept’s Evolving Capacity to Explain Policy Change’, in
European Policy Analysis, 5(2).
• ROSA, H. (2017), ‘Dynamic Stabilization, the Triple A. Approach to the Good Life, and the Resonance
Conception’, in Questions de communication, 31.
• ROSTOW, W.W. (1990), The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto (3rd ed.).
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press [original work published 1960].
• WEDEEN, L. (2002), ‘Conceptualizing Culture: Possibilities for Political Science’, in The American
Political Science Review, 96(4).
