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Chapter 2: Non-National Identity of Kazakhstan: Concepts and Methods for the Study
Summary
This study is driven by the question: how long can a state survive without establishing a firm base of national support in its population? Most, if not all, countries in transition53 experience a rigorous search for a unifying national identity which provides the means for state’s survival in lieu of a set of developed political institutions that tie society and state together. Similarly, in absence of developed formal structures and institutions, patronage networks may improve the stability of such nascent regimes by establishing less formal relations between major power groups in the society. (Collins, 2004) In other words, a strong sense of national unity and well-organized, coherent informal elite coalitions are frequently the key to preserving the stability of the countries in transition.
Kazakhstan presents a puzzle in both respects. Rather than focusing on the development of a strong sense of national unity across the republic, the regime maintains its political and social stability by developing inter- and even intra-ethnic divisions. Moreover, even though Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan, managed to concentrate and maintain a large degree of both formal and informal power in the hands
53 From dependency status to full sovereignty
Object Description
| Title | Market reforms, foreign direct investment and national identity: Non-national identity of Kazakhstan |
| Author | Zhanalin, Azamat |
| Author email | janalin_a@yahoo.com; zhanalin@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | International Relations |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-22 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-04-29 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | English, Robert |
| Advisor (committee member) |
James, Patrick Rorlich, Azade-Ayse |
| Abstract | The present study offers an analysis of the concept of non-national identity in application to the Republic of Kazakhstan as the most likely case. The primary hypothesis is that newly independent states, which are undergoing a rapid transition to market economy and actively pursue integration in the world economy and foreign direct investment, will experience fragmentation of their national identity, defined as non-national identity.; Three sites in Kazakhstan, Almaty, Astana and Aktau, were chosen for the study as representative of the market reforms in the republic as well as the best examples of the country’s pursuit of foreign direct investment and integration into the global economy. The data collected indicates that while Kazakhstan does demonstrate fragmentation of its national identity, it is not necessarily caused by the market reforms and the participation in the global trade. Alternative causal variables such as the Soviet and Russian colonial legacy, intra-ethnic cleavages among the Kazakhs and the prevalence of multi-vector foreign policy were found to contribute to the development of non-national identity of Kazakhstan. The study’s results also suggest that in the last few years, Kazakh identity is experiencing a rather strong revival as well, which may yet counteract the existing factors leading to the emergence of the non-national identity of Kazakhstan. |
| Keyword | identity; nationalism; Kazakhstan; market reforms; globalization; foreign direct investment; national identity; countries in transition; foreign policy; culture; former Soviet Union; Central Asia; patronage networks; energy; oil; post-colonial legacy; nation-state |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | Almaty; Astana; Aktau |
| Geographic subject (country) | Kazakhstan |
| Coverage date | 1970/2010 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3812 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Zhanalin, Azamat |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Zhanalin-4506 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume51/etd-Zhanalin-4506.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 46 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 40 Chapter 2: Non-National Identity of Kazakhstan: Concepts and Methods for the Study Summary This study is driven by the question: how long can a state survive without establishing a firm base of national support in its population? Most, if not all, countries in transition53 experience a rigorous search for a unifying national identity which provides the means for state’s survival in lieu of a set of developed political institutions that tie society and state together. Similarly, in absence of developed formal structures and institutions, patronage networks may improve the stability of such nascent regimes by establishing less formal relations between major power groups in the society. (Collins, 2004) In other words, a strong sense of national unity and well-organized, coherent informal elite coalitions are frequently the key to preserving the stability of the countries in transition. Kazakhstan presents a puzzle in both respects. Rather than focusing on the development of a strong sense of national unity across the republic, the regime maintains its political and social stability by developing inter- and even intra-ethnic divisions. Moreover, even though Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan, managed to concentrate and maintain a large degree of both formal and informal power in the hands 53 From dependency status to full sovereignty |
