Kazakhstani Youth Language Ideologies

The article dwells upon the factors impacting the process of nation-building in Kazakhstan. The question of national identity is widely discussed in Post-Soviet countries as it is directly connected to the national ideology, history, language and other issues. The authors consider the rebirth of the title nation, competition of the civil and ethnic approaches to the nation-building, and contradiction of Kazakh and Russian languages to be topical issues in the formation of national identity in modern Kazakhstan. Particularly important role is given to Kazakh language claiming the status of the main attribute of ethnic cultural symbolism of Kazakhstan. The article discusses the peculiarities of the policy of kazakhization and provides a conclusion that this is an effective solution for national and interethnic relations issues in Kazakhstan.

The volume “New Voices from Central Asia: Political, Economic, and Societal Challenges and Opportunities” gives the floor to a young generation of experts and scholars from Central Asia and Azerbaijan. They were fellows at GW's Central Asia-Azerbaijan Fellowship Program, which aims to foster the next generation of thought leaders and policy experts in Central Asia. The Program provides young professionals (policy experts, scholars, and human rights and democracy activists) with opportunities to develop their research, analytical, and communication skills in order to become effective leaders within their communities. The Program serves as a platform for the exchange of ideas and builds lasting intellectual networks of exchange between and amongst Central Asians and the U.S. policy, scholarly, and activist communities. It increases and helps disseminate knowledge about Central Asian viewpoints in both the United States and Central Asia.

In Uyama, Tomohiko ed., Empire, Islam, and Politics in Central Eurasia, Sapporo, Japan: Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University, 2007, pp.351-368.

The Analytical Report focuses on analysis of China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI) and more specifically on the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) project, representing the component aiming to build land transport corridors from China through Central Asia (CA) to Europe – and its impact on migration flows and policies in the CA region. The report analyzes the importance of SREB for the land-locked countries in the region, identifies the main migration trends that have developed in the context of the movement of capital, goods, services, and labor force from China; analyzes individual types of migrations by countries. Despite the increasing mobility in the region and the importance of regulating migration, the regional cooperation, including the harmonization of policies and information exchange, is not well established. Systematic research and forecast of the migration processes provoked by SREB/BRI are unavailable.

he article discusses the process of formation and development of the re- lations between the state and religion in the late 20th-early 21st centuries. An attempt is made at rethinking the religious revival phenomenon and the attitude of the authorities towards this process. Political and legal factors in the development of state-confessional relations in multiconfessional Kazakhstan, methods and mechanisms of overcoming contradictions and ways to relieve tension between the state and religion are revealed. The study of religion and society and the specific forms of their interaction during the transition period must be carried out with regard to their unity and connectedness. Hence, the article explores the influence of the socio-political and legal mechanism on the revival of religion, which has expanded significantly in the face of accelerated transformation of public life. This article aims to link the problem under consideration with a wider range of socio-political development issues under modern conditions. Currently, significant socio-economic and political changes are underway in the independent Republic of Kazakhstan, and the need for them is dictated by life itself. Along with the transformation, there is an ongoing process of reappraisal of spiritual values, and a modification of a number of conceptual provisions of various ideological theories and views, which is a natural phenomenon. This is entirely understandable, since any historical phenomenon that involves the formation of a new independent state is characterized by its uniqueness and inimitability. In this case, more than ever, the capacity for introspection, the accuracy of forecasts and the perception of historical experience becomes increasingly more significant. Contemporary events that are taking place in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries clearly confirm the relevance of the revival of Islam and spiritual traditions, as well as the problems of strengthening the state’s national and spiritual unity and its security. These problems are especially topical now, when Kazakhstan is actively seeking moral guidelines for religious teachings, methods of preventing the “politicization of religion” as one of the most dangerous social destabilization factors, and there is an ever-increasing interest in Islamic values on T 125 CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS English Edition Volume 20 Issue 3 2019 the part of young people and other socially active segments of the population. Al of the above makes us seek answers to a number of questions, including the following: What kind of state-confessional and inter-confessional relations are appropriate? What is the impact of the Islamic revival on the religios ity in the country? How can religious traditions be utilized without impeding socio-political transformations, and what should the state-confessional relations model be in order to be aligned with the domestic conditions and be recognized by all as necessary?

This paper analyses the main developments of Kazakhstan's political life during the 203-14 period

In the 19th century Railways were a symbol of progress and an essential condition of modernisation. In a colonial context they served not only military and economic aims, but also formed the outlines of the conquered territory. The construction of the Transcaspian Railway in 1885 – 1898 radically changed the traditional routes along which people and goods circulated in Turkestan, standardising the impressions western European travellers had of Russian territory. In this paper the crystallisation of a propaganda narrative surrounding the Transcaspian railway is traced through the accounts of a number of French travellers: Gustave Léon Niox,(1840-1921); d’Orval, (1851-1911), Napoléon Ney, (1849-1900) & Jean de Pontevès Sabran, (1851-1912). Other material is taken from more specialized publications, in particular those of the engineer Edgar Boulangier, (1850-1899) sent to Turkestan especially to study Russian railway construction. These initial impressions made up a canvas according to which Léon de Beylié, (1849-1910) also saw Turkestan in 1889 and Jules Verne described the adventures of Claudius Bombarnac in the novel of the same name in 1892.

Nursultan Nazarbayev as the founding President of Kazakhstan played a determinant role in the formation of Kazakh foreign policy. In this respect, the article examines Nazarbayev's perception of Turkey as a decision maker in foreign policy are based on observation rather than realities. Nazarbayev is aware of the fact that the national identity of Kazakhstan is divided between two competing poles; Russian and Kazakh, in a broader sense; Slavic and Turkic. From this perspective, Nazarbayev's perception of Turkey is significant as it is not only related to foreign policy but at the same time the national identity of Kazakhstan. The study argues that the President of Republic of Turkey of early 1990s Turgut Özal with his active diplomacy towards Kazakhstan contributed to the positive image of Turkey. The research concludes that close and reliable relations between Nazarbayev and Özal became the basis of a strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and Turkey. Özet Kazakistan'ın kurucu Cumhurbaşkanı Nursultan Nazarbayev'in, Kazak dış politi-kasının oluşumunda belirleyici rol üstlendiği kesindir. Bu bağlamda, makale, Nazarba-yev'in Türkiye algısını ele almaktadır. Çünkü inşacı ekolün iddiasına dış politika kararları gerçeklere değil algı üzerine alınmaktadır. Nazarbayev Kazakistan'ın ulusal kimliğinin Rus ve Kazak olarak, daha geniş kapsamda Slav ve Türk olarak yarışan iki kutba ayrıldığının farkındadır. Buradan hareketle, Nazarbayev'in Türkiye algısı, yal-nızca dış politika açısından değil aynı zamanda Kazakistan'ın ulusal kimliği açısından da önemlidir. Çalışma, 1990'ların başında Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı Tur-gut Özal'ın Kazakistan'a yönelik aktif diplomasi izlemesi Türkiye'nin olumlu imajı-na katkıda bulunduğunu savunmaktadır. Araştırmanın sonucuna göre, Nazarbayev ile Özal arasındaki yakın ve güvenilir ilişkiler Kazakistan ile Türkiye arasındaki stratejik ortaklığın temelini oluşturmuştur.

Western-educated Kazakhstani youth is engaged in a variety of activities, not all of which can be categorized as direct civic engagement. Many of them are in a latent form. This paper analyses hidden, unsystematic, and pre-political forms of such participation. It also examines the nexus between the quality of higher education and direct or indirect involvement in civic initiatives.

This paper examines the state-building project in Kazakhstan since independence in 1991. It argues that both civic and ethno-nationalistic tendencies in state-building can be identified but that it is not any particular trajectory of nationalism in Kazakhstan that is of significance so much as the tensions between two very different trajectories. We argue that, at least to date, the government has succeeded in managing these tensions quite effectively both at the policy level and in its relations with different ethnic groups and neighbouring states. Whether Kazakhstan can continue to manage these tensions in the post-Nazarbayev era is one of the most significant questions facing the country.

Ethnic return migrations tend to become a controversial issue and create public debates within the receiving homeland states because of two major factors. The first concerns the economic and social problems brought on by the migrants′ integration process as well as the socio-economic burden that such migrations place on homeland institutions. The second involves the inherently discriminatory and exclusionary character of such migrations because they privilege the state-bearing ethnic group over others. As we will see, this dynamic has important implications for domestic nation-building. To better understand these influences within Kazakhstan, this article will attempt to analyse the public debate surrounding the government’s ethnic return migration policy. It traces the discourse concerning the return of Kazakh oralmans (return migrants) by examining both Kazakh and Russian language publications. Interviews with experts, informal discussions with return migrants and the testimonies of long-term residents in the country are also used to this end.

... This paper derives from several months of ethnographic fieldwork in Mongolia in 2006 and 2008. ... render many of the observations about the remote nature of Bayan-Ulgii aimaq in the ... In addition to the surveys we conducted 28 life history interviews, seeking similar, age, sex ...

DIALOGUE, Volume-15 No. 3.

The disintegration of the Soviet Union spurred a transnational trade in consumer goods. Bazaars, which proliferated across the former Soviet Union, including in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan that is the focus of this article, became nodes in this informal trade. This article makes three arguments: (i) Soviet successor states capitalised on the new informal economy which provided employment to millions when economies were in decline. Conversely, ongoing developments, particularly in Kazakhstan, seek to modernise the bazaars that emerged after the Soviet Union. (ii) The movement of people and goods – between border and bazaar, and in case of re-exports, on to another border – are illustrative of a multi-dimensional informal economy evidenced in rent extraction, regulation of bazaars, and in trader networks. (iii) The bazaar-centred economy relies on checkpoint politics that establish border regimes enabling mobility.

Measures taken by Russia, Kazakhstan and Belorussia aimed at integration activation, which are reflected in the Common Economic Space (CES) formation, and their announced plans on creation of the Eurasian Economic Union, gave a momentum to the debate of proponents and opponents of the aforementioned idea. Approach to the Eurasian integration became quite an important issue for leading political communities and parties, as well as the political and social activists. To some extent, the debate symbolizes changing balance of powers between different political forces and reveals their attitude and approach towards the fundamental principles and ideology, and external policy priorities of the state.