This study examines the creation of the Soviet State in Central Asia through the lens of Uzbek cinema—from the collapse of the Russian Empire to WWII.Between the founding of Soviet Uzbekistan in 1924 and the Stalinist Terror of the late 1930s, a nationalist cinema emerged. In Cinema, Nation, and Empire in Uzbekistan Cloé Drieu argues that the Uzbek films of this period provide a perfect angle for viewing the complex history of domination, nationalism, and e...

How does an occupation movement become a political force capable of taking power?This book explores Mexico’s 2006 mass encampment in Mexico City—an unprecedented 48-day protest sparked by a contested presidential election. From this occupation emerged new mobilisations against privatisation and inequality, reshaping the Mexican left and paving the way for electoral victories in 2018 and 2024. Drawing on long-term fieldwork, the book traces activist networks, grassro...

Between the founding of Soviet Uzbekistan in 1924 and the Stalinist Terror of the late 1930s, a nationalist cinema emerged in Uzbekistan giving rise to the first wave of national film production and an Uzbek cinematographic elite. In Cinema, Nation, and Empire in Uzbekistan Cloé Drieu uses Uzbek films as a lens to explore the creation of the Soviet State in Central Asia, starting from the collapse of the Russian Empire up through the eve of WWII. Drieu argues that cinema provides ...