Abstract
New regimes need to make crucial decisions about the continuity of public policy. The new incumbents will decide whether to continue the previous administration’s policies or make radical changes. The choice between continuity and change may favour the former in the early stages. However, the propensity to introduce new services or means of delivery may increase with time. In the Central Asian experience, the pattern of policy development reflects in part the process of gaining independence and the dominant autocratic regime type. The first change of leader presents a significant choice between continuity and change. This article examines Uzbekistan, focusing on a prominent area on the policy agenda: higher education. It investigates how the state and universities have faced issues in research ethics in the humanities and social sciences. The article examines the pattern of adoption, adaption and abstention in the policy process and demonstrates the predominance of the last option.