Thematic Description

In our globalized world today, the increase of multicultural spaces and interdependence of civilizations and peoples have made intercultural dialogue crucial and inevitable in all aspects of socio-political and cultural life for entire humanity. The growing global awareness of a shared human destiny highlights the need for new forms of philosophical diplomacy as a significant means to prevent and resolve intercultural and inter-civilizational conflicts.

Dialogue as a way of understanding one another has roots across diverse cultural traditions. In the Middle East and Asia, the concept of dialogue can be traced back to the Sumerian debates, the hymns of the Rig Veda, the Mahabharata, the teachings of Buddha and Confucius, etc. In the West, the meaning of dialogue took shape in the dialectical-dialogical methods of Socrates and Plato in ancient Greece. More recently, Western philosophical diplomacy has been influenced by such thinkers as Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, Gabriel Marcel, Vladimir Bibler, Mikhail Bakhtin, Paul Ricœur, Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, and Emmanuel Levinas, who explored the origins and nature of dialogue, its relation to thought, language, and culture, and its potential to transcend materialistic boundaries and move beyond dualistic divides like “subject-object,” “I-thou,” and so on.

In Central Asia, dialogue as a unique form of connection between human and nature was shaped by the region’s ancient nomadic culture and epic tales like Kozhozhash, Er-Toshtuk, and Manas. This dialogical understanding was also reflected in the diplomatic exchanges of the Saks (7th century BCE – 4th century CE), ancestors of the Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Tajiks, and Uzbeks, with Persian kings and Alexander the Great.

Over centuries, Central Asia’s geographical, historical, and cultural position enabled it to be an important crossroad for East-West intercultural dialogue. Since the inception of the Great Silk Road (2nd century BCE), Central Asia has developed a syncretic culture and philosophy where religious beliefs and cultural traditions such as Zoroastrianism, Tengrism, Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Christianity coexisted. In the Middle Ages, Sufism and the cosmopolitan views of Muslim thinkers like Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Al-Biruni, Al-Khwarizmi, Zhusup Balasaguni, Ahmed Yassawi, Omar Khayyam, and Ulugbek flourished in the region.

The Silk Road, stretching from Xi’an in China to Rome in Italy, played a pivotal role in international relations and diplomacy. Venetian traveler Marco Polo documented his experiences along this historic route in The Book of the Diversity of the World (13th-14th centuries) underscoring the role of the Silk Road as a channel for cultural exchange, diplomatic ties, and international cooperation. Rulers in many countries utilized the Silk Road precisely for such purposes.

This rich and long history of intercultural dialogue underpins the multi-vector diplomacy of contemporary Central Asian nations and has contributed to the region’s successful approach and practice to peaceful border resolution. Central Asia’s experience in fostering intercultural dialogue and “silk” diplomacy warrants deeper scientific exploration. However, it has been received limited scientific research attention.

The upcoming international conferences, titled “Intercultural Dialogue in Central Asia and Beyond: Philosophy of Diplomacy,” will be held across three Central Asian countries. These conferences aim to clarify the theoretical and practical dimensions of intercultural dialogue as a foundation for the philosophy of diplomacy in Central Asia and across the world.

The discussion will address, but are not limited to, the following issues:

- The history and philosophy of intercultural dialogue and diplomacy.

- The role of the Great Silk Road in the development of intercultural dialogue and diplomacy.

- Central Asia as a geographical, cultural, socio-economic, and political crossroads of civilizations.

- Philosophical frameworks for intercultural dialogue.

- The philosophies of intercultural dialogue in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

- Philosophy of diplomacy as a new field within 21st century philosophy

Abstract
Please send an abstract (300 to 500 words) and a brief CV to Dr. Cholpon Alieva [alievach@yahoo.com] and [cua-rvp@cua.edu] by April 30, 2025. Full paper will be due on June 20, 2025. Well-developed papers will be published by the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy in its publication series “Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change.”

Logistics

Conference participants will cover the costs of their own travel, the local organizer will provide information about accommodations during the conference.  The conference will be conducted in English.

Contact

Dr. Cholpon Alieva

Ala-Too International University

Universities of Central Asia

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

alievach@yahoo.com