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.

Marlene Laruelle is research professor, director of the Central Asia Program, and associate director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at the Elliott School of International Affairs of George Washington University.

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