Kazakhstan in the Making

This collection is a multidisciplinary examination of modern-day Kazakhstan. It analyzes the country’s fast-changing national identity, the current regime’s ongoing quest for popular support, relations between the Kazakh majority and the Russian-speaking minorities, and various other issues.

Edited by Marlene Laruelle - Contributions by Ulan Bigozhin; Alima Bissenova; Douglas Blum; Alexander C. Diener; Natalie Koch; Diana T. Kudaibergenova; Marlene Laruelle; Mateusz Laszczkowski; Sebastien Peyrouse; Megan Rancier; Assel Tutumlu; Wendell Schwa

Introduction, Marlene Laruelle
Part I: The State: Ruling Mechanisms and Symbols Chapter 1: The Rule by Law: Negotiating Stability in Kazakhstan, Assel Tutumlu Chapter 2: The Kazakh Neopatrimonial Regime: Balancing Uncertainties among the Family, Oligarchs, and Technocrats, Sebastien Peyrouse Chapter 3: Shrek Meets the President: Magical Authoritarianism in a Fairy-Tale City, Mateusz Laszczkowski Chapter 4: Shrine and Neopatrimonialism in southern Kazakhstan, Wendell Schwab and Ulan Bigozhin
Part II: The Nation: Conflicting Legitimacies and Repertoires Chapter 5: Nationalizing Elites and Regimes: Nation-building in Post-Soviet Authoritarian and Democratic Contexts, Diana T. Kudaibergenova Chapter 6: Imagining Kazakhstani-stan: Negotiations of Homeland and Titular-Nationality, Alexander C. Diener Chapter 7: Which Future for National-Patriots?: The Landscape of Kazakh Nationalism, Marlene Laruelle Chapter 8: Cowboys, Gangsters, and Rural Bumpkins: Constructing the "Other" in Kazakhstan's "Texas," Natalie R. Koch and Kristopher White
Part III: The Society: Negotiating Cultural Changes Chapter 9: Islam in Good Taste: About Suitable Forms of Public Religiosity, Alima Bissenova Chapter 10: The "Spirit of Tengri': Spirituality, Nationalism, and Emerging Trends in Kazakh Ethno-Pop, Megan Rancier Chapter 11: Return Migration from the United States: Exploring the Dynamics of Cultural Change in Kazakhstan, Douglas Blum