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Monotonous motorscapes: Uzbekistan’s car industry and the consolidation of a post-socialist shortage economy

ABSTRACT In Uzbekistan, the pure monopoly enjoyed by the state-owned car manufacturer UzAvtosanoat has resulted in domestic car shortages and long waiting periods. This article examines the politico-economic mechanisms behind these shortages, as well as the ways in which the latter affect – and are curtailed by – aspirant car owners. It argues that shortages are a consequence of the Karimov-era policy of ‘self-reliance’ and in particular of the goal of attaining a positive trade balance by means of export prioritization and import substitution. The article juxtaposes the workings of Uzbekistan’s car industry and market with the Soviet era and suggests that they lead to the consolidation of a post-socialist shortage economy. Inevitably, similarly to their Soviet-era counterparts, local consumers face often insurmountable obstacles in their attempts to purchase a car and are exposed to access inequalities, debt, corruption, speculation, and the rent-seeking practices of local patronage networks.