"Who are the Others? Who are We? What is the difference between Them and Us?" Rano Turaeva ponders this question early in the first chapter of Migration and Identity in Central Asia: The Uzbek Experience, a book concerned with the social construction and maintenance of collective difference.

Turaeva considers these questions with reference to the specific circumstances of the Khorezmi, an Uzbekistani ethnic sub-group hailing from the country's northwest Khorezm Region, and their experiences as internal migrants moving to the capital city of Tashkent. The Khorezmi share a common ethnicity with those whose families have resided in Tashkent for generations, with differences between the two groups boiling down to differences in dialect and some cultural practices. Despite this, government restrictions on internal migration to Tashkent have contributed to the construction of new social divisions within the country and exacerbated the splintering of Uzbek ethnic identity.

Policies first introduced during the Soviet period to control the movement of populations within the country now serve to enforce a system which privileges the urbanized Tashkentis over rural populations such as the Khorezmi. The national capital's superior opportunities for education, employment and housing are effectively out of reach for all of those without legal registration in the city. Over time, the formal administrative divisions between Tashkentis and those from outside the capital have translated into social divisions, manifest in a sense of "us" and "them," which the author argues, both sides now actively cultivate.

The author, herself a Khorezmian Uzbek, details the complex series of interwoven networks that support the new Khorezmi arrivals, from the securing of local accommodation and employment to the brokering of marriage to suitable fellow Khorezmi. It is through these networks, and their associated cultural practices and rituals, that Khorezmi identity is maintained, even for those seeking a long-term future in Tashkent.

The book is first and foremost an academic text, based upon the author's anthropology dissertation. As such, many of the book's details will be of interest only to those with a specific focus in Central Asia, internal migration and/or the formation of identities. The book nevertheless has much to recommend it to the more casual reader, due in no small part to the research approach taken by the author.

Turaeva applies the academic technique known as "thick description" to her subject matter, whereby the reader is provided with not only the facts but also commentary, interpretation and the author's own reflections. This approach helps provide much-needed context to the book's descriptions of otherwise complex and unfamiliar Uzbek bureaucratic processes and Khorezmi cultural mores.

The author also liberally peppers the book with juicy vignettes of the life of the Khorezmi, and these provide a comfortable entry point for those without a background in Central Asia. For example, this evocative description of the arduous bus journey involved for those travelling from Khorezmi to Tashkent: "Men usually have spirits with their meals. This is usually vodka, which can be detected from the lingering smell of vodka in the salon of the bus after 'dinner'. After a long period of enduring heavy cigarette smoke, the smell of vodka is added and becomes unbearable, especially when the tired feet of heavy men are freed from the sometimes incorrectly sized or uncomfortable shoes. There are still 13-14 hours left to reach Tashkent—if the bus does not break down on the way."

Such descriptions make for a more accessible book than most converted from academic theses, although it can sometimes be unclear how each story or example directly relates to the author's central argument.

The book is most engaging in its unpicking of the nature of social prejudice and boundary-setting in Uzbekistan. The author's interviews with her Khorezmi and Tashkenti contacts reveal long-standing stereotypes magnified by the greater cross-cultural interactions in Tashkent. Khorezmi see the Tashkenti as arrogant and corrupted by their entitled, modern lifestyle; while they in turn see the Khorezmi as naïve, uncultured country folk.

Each group also maintains its own self-narrative, about what it means to be "Khorezmi" or "Tashkenti", with a complex–often contradictory–set of qualities and characteristics that mark one as "authentic". Both sides actively apply these ideas of "us" and "them" to reassert their own collective identity within their own community and in their representation to those external to the community. The author effectively expounds this assertion, drawing from both academic theory and her own case studies.

Perhaps the lone weakness of the book is the absence of international comparison. Although the author cites a few examples from Africa and China, this could have been explored further. China in particular, with its hukou system of residency registration, has been the subject of substantial academic study and could have provided an interesting comparison case. In China too, official divisions between local, urban residents and unregistered "migrant workers" have led to, or at least exacerbated, the sense of social difference within China's population. Such cases have important implications for policy makers and social scientists beyond Asia.

With Migration and Identity in Central Asia: The Uzbek Experience, Turaeva has produced a comprehensive account of the Khorezmi experience of internal migration. Her deep understanding of the local context, and unique access to Tashkent's Khorezmi and Uzbek communities, have allowed her to produce a book which makes an important contribution to the study of the interplay between identity formation and internal migration.

Joshua Bird is a Researcher and PhD Candidate at the China Studies Centre at University of Sydney

Reprinted with permission from The Asian Review of Books