In this article, the authors examine the role of education in the maintenance of social cohesion and the formation of new identities amid the economic decline and political volatility of six new nations: Azerbaijan, in the southern Caucasus, and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in Central Asia. The authors first describe the historical legacies in education in the period before independence in 1991. Then they analyze the systemic crises in education since 1991, as well as the newly independent nations' often half-hearted attempts to embrace Islam and to find some place for religious and ethical thought and values in what had been aggressively secular educational systems. The authors pay particular attention to the ways in which the educational systems have deteriorated since 1991, examining economic deterioration, the degradation of educational infrastructure, and the decline in enrollment and retention, while considering the effects of these crises on social cohesion and political legitimacy. The authors conclude with some thoughts about the potential struggles that lie ahead as the peoples of Azerbaijan and Central Asia seek to reform their educational systems and thereby stabilize and revitalize the processes of social cohesion in their societies. (Contains 14 footnotes.)