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185
economic growth since independence251 while Almaty already had the complex of government buildings and infrastructure established over a long period of time.
Nonetheless, no one dared to challenge Nazarbayev’s authority and his determination in moving the capital. In the first few years, those few government employees who did move, had to survive on a bare minimum and yet work even harder and longer hours due to a massive understaffing problem created in the process of rebuilding the government at the new capital.252 Almaty residents were extremely biased against the move: after all, they were losing their status and many of them were losing their jobs. Astana residents, of course, rejoiced as the move promised them unprecedented opportunities and a bright future. After Astana (Akmola at the time) was chosen as the new capital, a special economic zone was established to spur its development and to encourage construction in the city so that it would be able to handle its new role.
Obviously, the move had larger ulterior motives which were not voiced officially but easily identified by any observer in the country. (Rubstev & Popov, 1998) The northern regions of the country were mainly inhabited by the Russians who had been living there for generations and therefore considered the land to belong to Russia rather Kazakhstan (Abdygaliev, 1997, pp. 15, 30) and some actually sought re-integration of
251 The government answer to those concerns was that the new capital will be paid for by foreign investors which left people puzzled: what reason would make foreigners pay for the new capital of Kazakhstan? Ever since, every penny obtained from a foreign source was trumpeted as a great achievement (Author’s observation)
252 Author’s observation
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 191 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 185 economic growth since independence251 while Almaty already had the complex of government buildings and infrastructure established over a long period of time. Nonetheless, no one dared to challenge Nazarbayev’s authority and his determination in moving the capital. In the first few years, those few government employees who did move, had to survive on a bare minimum and yet work even harder and longer hours due to a massive understaffing problem created in the process of rebuilding the government at the new capital.252 Almaty residents were extremely biased against the move: after all, they were losing their status and many of them were losing their jobs. Astana residents, of course, rejoiced as the move promised them unprecedented opportunities and a bright future. After Astana (Akmola at the time) was chosen as the new capital, a special economic zone was established to spur its development and to encourage construction in the city so that it would be able to handle its new role. Obviously, the move had larger ulterior motives which were not voiced officially but easily identified by any observer in the country. (Rubstev & Popov, 1998) The northern regions of the country were mainly inhabited by the Russians who had been living there for generations and therefore considered the land to belong to Russia rather Kazakhstan (Abdygaliev, 1997, pp. 15, 30) and some actually sought re-integration of 251 The government answer to those concerns was that the new capital will be paid for by foreign investors which left people puzzled: what reason would make foreigners pay for the new capital of Kazakhstan? Ever since, every penny obtained from a foreign source was trumpeted as a great achievement (Author’s observation) 252 Author’s observation |
