The role of oil and gas in Kazakhstan's foreign policy: Looking east or west?

This study examines the role of oil and gas in the making of Kazakhstan's foreign policy. It argues that Kazakhstan has been following a multi-vector foreign policy in relation to its oil-led development and the geopolitics of exporting oil from this landlocked region. The significance of geopolitical considerations and the resulting pragmatism of Kazakhstan's leadership only allow a limited role for national identity and internal political dynamics in the making of its foreign policy. Kazakhstan's geopolitical imperatives force the country to keep good relations with Russia and China as well as with the US and the EU, as counterbalancing partners.     

A Tale of Two Kazakhstans: Sources of Political Cleavage and Conflict in the Post-Soviet Period

Departing from some prominent scholarship on Kazakhstani politics, the author argues that competition between financial–industrial groups over scarce economic and political resources—rather than inter-clan or centre–periphery rivalries—largely determines who gets what, when and how. While clan politics and regional grievances may still influence struggles over the distribution of power and wealth, their importance has diminished in recent years. Instead, observable political conflict has centred around competing financial–industrial groups, which represent the diverse, and at times clashing, interests of Kazakhstan's business and political elites.     

Illusory Transition? Elite Reconstitution in Kazakhstan, 1989 – 2002

Changes in elite composition during the post-Soviet transition in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe have received significant scholarly attention, but corollary developments in other former ‘Communist’ countries, including Kazakhstan, have attracted much less scrutiny, or have been attributed to organic features of Central Asian society. We examine the trajectory of the Kazakhstan elite in the light of three key perspectives on elite transformation: the first claims that the country has reverted to traditional clan social structures, the second proposes the conquest of power by a nascent ‘acquisition class’, and the third argues that the Soviet-era elite was largely successful in maintaining power during the economic reorganisation. We find that Kazakhstan's experience most closely matches the third explanation.     

Rethinking the Economic Relationship between Kazakhstan and Russia

According to their governments, economic relations between Kazakhstan and Russia—the two largest post-Soviet countries—have been exceptionally solid and robust. However, statistical data demonstrate that Russian investments in Kazakhstan's economy have been weak, and that Kazakhstan has only recently increased investment in the Russian economy. This raises the question of whether relations between the two countries have been more uneven than has been claimed officially. The article also explores the influence of off-shore investments via third countries and other aspects of the bilateral relationship between Kazakhstan and Russia and the involvement of each country in the other's economy.     

Towards a new past: Some reflections on nationalism in post-socialist Slovakia

By analysing two commemorative events organized shortly before and after the 2010 parliamentary elections in Slovakia, this article demonstrates how the Prime Minister Robert Fico and his collaborators exploited these ceremonies to promote a more inclusive definition of political community than their right-wing counterparts. Although commentators have interpreted the continuous political success of the political party Smer-SD in terms of negatively connotated nationalism and national populism, Fico's discursive framework allows him to address those who have been stigmatized by post-1989 neoliberalism, especially former communists and people unable or unwilling to adapt to the rapid changes brought about by post-socialist social, economic, political as well as cultural transition(s). Instead of backwardness, Fico's anti-elitist and anti-capitalist rhetoric opened a new symbolic universe to these groups. The history narratives that formed an important part of this universe were not used to exclude the Other, but rather to create a meaningful future for those who have been ignored by (neo-)liberal ideals. This paper argues for an interpretation of post-socialist populist parties that would take into account culturally relevant symbolic structures advanced by these parties.     

A Comparative Study of Resource Nationalism in Russia and Kazakhstan 2004–2008

In neighbouring countries like Russia and Kazakhstan, resource nationalism that may look similar to outside observers has a different character and is driven by different circumstances in each state. To assess the underlying nature of state-centric models of resource-led development in the two post-Soviet states, we contrast recent state interventions into their respective resource sectors. In Russia, heightened state involvement in the resource sectors, including oil and gas pipeline networks, is characterised mainly by political goals, whereas Kazakhstan's resource nationalism is primarily motivated by economic goals. More specifically, Russia leverages its energy sector to achieve geopolitical objectives and domestic political stability. By contrast, Kazakhstan seeks widely dispersed economic development.     

Changing perception of homeland for the Kazakh diaspora

There is a sizable Kazakh diaspora living in Turkey and Europe. Since their initial migration, these Kazakhs have been involved in actions aiming to preserve their group's cultural and ethnic boundaries. By studying these actions and related discourses, this article seeks to explain how these groups formulated and reformulated their identities and loyalties in their host states over generations. Many Kazakhs in Turkey and Europe originally came from Eastern Turkestan (Xinjiang) and considered this area their homeland. However, Kazakhstan's independence in 1991 led to an important change in their homeland orientation and, after 1991, the activities of an increasing number of Kazakh diaspora organizations shifted toward Kazakhstan as the homeland. Therefore, this article focuses mainly on two periods: the period before and the period after Kazakhstan's independence. The fieldwork was conducted in Turkey, Germany, France, and the Netherlands and includes interviews with leaders of Kazakh diaspora organizations and other members of the diaspora.     

The World Bank and India's irrigation reform

The decisions to be taken on canal irrigation in India during the next five years will have repercussions well into the next century, and the World Bank's role in those decisions will be substantial. Yet the Bank's approach to improving existing canal systems and designing new ones fails to match the components of the approach with their environments. This paper suggests that in a wide range of social and physical environments the Bank's proposals are likely to give little net benefit compared with alternatives. An alternative way of thinking about irrigation improvement programmes would emphasise operational procedures and the information ‘system’.     

Mexican Immigrants

Abstract

Social Work's history is embedded in this profession's service and commitment to immigrant populations. This new century presents itself with a new mixture of immigrants who come to United States (U.S.) shores seeking a better life. The challenge to social workers is to be well-versed in social policy, human behavior, and practice realms related to serving these immigrants. Schools of social work must insure that curriculum reflects the needs and situations of this new mix of immigrants. One of the largest groups in this mix are those immigrants from Mexico. Of particular concern is the adaptation of Mexican and other Latino immigrants who come to this country without documentation. Social workers have an ethical responsibility to serve these clients in a culturally competent and informed manner. They must keep updated on immigration policy and entitlement or eligibility issues that mitigate these immigrants' ability to survive.     

Civic engagement and uncontrolled ballot votes: Evidence from Swiss cities

Citizens are increasingly encouraged to get more directly involved in policy-making, especially at subnational levels of government. By letting the electorate decide on policy measures, direct democratic institutions add a veto player to political processes and change the decision-making game of a political system. Besides influences of interest groups and political actor's strategies, however, little is known about how institutional, political and other contextual factors bear on the use of direct democracy. This is of particular interest if ballot processes are neither initiated nor controlled by governing majorities. This contribution shows that institutions have little if no impact on the use of optional referendums and citizen-initiated petitions in Swiss cities. Rather, voting on uncontrolled ballots is largely determined by contextual variables, including foremost a commune's social complexity. In addition, the total number of other ballots, economic diversity and social satisfaction prove to be key to explaining optional referendum votes, whereas the launching of popular initiatives is explained by social complexity together with economic difficulties.     

Remembering and forgetting: the state policy of memorializing Stalin's repression in post-Soviet Kazakhstan

The general perception of Western analysts and observers is that the nation-states created as a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union all treat the memory of the dark, repressive aspects of the Stalinist regime in public spaces as a symbolic element in the creation of a new post-Soviet identity [Denison, Michael. 2009. “The Art of the Impossible: Political Symbolism, and the Creation of National Identity and Collective Memory in Post-Soviet Turkmenistan.” Europe-Asia Studies 61 (7): 1167–1187]. We argue that the government of Kazakhstan employs non-nationalistic discourse in its treatment of Stalinist victims’ commemoration in a variety of forms, through the creation of modern memorial complexes at the sites of horrific Soviet activity (mass burial places, labor camps, and detention centers), purpose-built museum exhibitions, and the commemorative speeches of its president and other officials. Kazakhstan's strategy in commemorating its Soviet past is designed to highlight the inclusiveness of repression on all peoples living in its territory at that time, not just Kazakhs, thereby assisting in bringing together its multinational and multiethnic society. Thus, the official stance treats this discourse as an important symbolic source of shaping the collective memory of the nation, based on “a general civil identity without prioritizing one ethnic group over another – a national unity, founded on the recognition of a common system of values and principles for all citizens” [Shakirova, Svetlana. 2012. “Letters to Nazarbaev: Kazakhstan's Intellectuals Debate National Identity.” February 7. Accessed July 28, 2015. http://postsovietpost.stanford.edu/discussion/letters-nazarbaev-kazakhstans-intellectuals-debate-national-identity].     

Dynamic transparency: An audit of Mexico's Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs) aim to provide a channelled exchange between citizens and public officials that, irrespective of the citizen's identity, results in the provision of timely, relevant, and often new information about policy. We evaluated Mexico's FOIA by submitting 307 information requests on behalf of an average male citizen to government entities in the years 2007, 2013, and 2015. In 2007, we also submitted the same requests to 87 comparable entities on behalf of a male citizen who signalled economic and political clout. Encouragingly, entities do not discriminate between regular and seemingly influential citizens. Entities also answer more frequently and provide more information in 2015 compared to earlier years, but they are taking longer to answer, frequently charging fees, and often failing to provide quality information to questions they are legally bound to answer. Mexico's FOIA is a functional system demanding significant improvements.     

Is It Ideology or Desperation: Why Do Organizations Deploy Women in Violent Terrorist Attacks?

Why do some terrorist organizations deploy women on the front lines and in violent attacks? This study explores the social conditions, economic factors, and organizational characteristics that might explain women's participation in violent terrorist activity. With a new data set of 395 terrorist organizations, women's participation in terrorist attacks was quantified and coded. The logistic regression analysis results suggest that women's educational attainment, social rights, terrorist organization's age and size, and the level of a country's economic development are important predictors of the deployment of women in terrorist violence while a terrorist group's ideological or religious orientation and the level of democracy do not significantly influence the likelihood of women's participation.     

NAFTA: The institutionalisation of economic openness and the configuration of Mexican geo-economic spaces

Since the second part of the 1980s, and with the negotiation and implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexico's growth-and industry-orientated policies have shifted from the realm of public policy to a market-driven domain. This paper suggests that economic openness and the empowerment of market actors is provoking a new regionalisation of Mexico's core economic activities that will play a crucial role in the coming century. For Mexico, the core of NAFTA, so to speak, encompasses a cross-border territoriality covering two key southern American states: Texas and California, and key Mexican states located from the border to the Central plateau of the country. I also argue in this paper that Mexico's changing economic territoriality, triggered by the dominance of the outward-looking economic model, is exacerbating regional inequalities that prevailed in the country even before the outset of economic reforms. This is mainly the case of Mexico's southern region, still very agriculture-orientated, and with a deficit of those export-orientated industries currently fuelling economic growth. This region is the least endowed with mobile assets-such as technology, capital, knowledge-in order to exploit the opportunities of market-orientated policies. Consequently, social cohesion is at stake, not necessarily provoked by the market, but exacerbated by it, and the market mechanism cannot by itself address this problem.     

Environmental politics in Chile: Legacies of dictatorship and democracy

Standing at the forefront of Latin America's political and economic liberalisation, Chile is held up as a model for the developing world. First in the region to embrace a boldly neoliberal development strategy, Chile's military dictatorship also peacefully gave way to stable, civilian rule and comparative economic success. However, the lens of environmental politics reveals a disturbing underside to the Chilean miracle. Environmental policy, institutions and participation are shaped and constrained by ominous legacies of history, dictatorship, and an economic orthodoxy inimical to sustainability. Democratic rule has opened political space, yet new environmental institutions and procedures exhibit inherited elitist and exclusionary features. Chile's environmental movement likewise demonstrates promise and innovation, but remains grounded in a civil society weakened and atomised by dictatorship and incomplete transition. Still, as the environmental costs of Chile's resource-extractive, export-led development mount, environmental politics may yet present a vital opportunity for social change.     

The Soviet and the Post-Soviet: Street Names and National Discourse in Almaty

Abstract

While discussing Kazakhstan's post-Soviet identity, scholars treat ‘Kazakhisation’ as a given, and the substance of the process of developing such an identity is usually ignored. This article gives an insight into this process by analysing the politics of street names in Almaty and its relation to collective memory in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. It is argued that the so-called ‘Kazakhisation’ of the country has been shaped primarily by the Soviet legacy, and it is in no sense pursuing the elimination of the Soviet past, or moving essentially anti-Russian lines. In fact, the post-Soviet discourse of the Kazakh nation is not a rupture but a continuation of Soviet discourses.     

Effects of Out-of-Pocket Payments on Access to Maternal Health Services in Almaty,Kazakhstan: A Qualitative Study

The current study addresses health care reform in transitional countries and explores the impact of out-of-pocket payments on access to maternal health services drawing on Kazakhstan's case. Data on out-of-pocket payments and access to maternity care were generated through qualitative in-depth interviews conducted in Almaty during the period 2009–2010. The results indicate that while health sector reform was designed to improve the quality of care and equity, the introduction of official user charges accompanied by a rapid growth of informal payments created financial barriers that prevented women from accessing maternal services leading to reduction in utilisation of maternity care.     

Alcohol,Policy and Politics in Kazakhstan

Alcohol consumption in post-communist Kazakhstan remains at high levels and episodic heavy drinking, characteristic of the spirits-drinking regions of the former USSR, is still the national drinking style. Reported levels of alcohol-related harm are rising but assessment of trends in levels of consumption and harm is hindered by the disruption to data collection in the post-independence period and the continuing poor availability of public information. There is evidence however that changes in the republic's ethnic profile are connected with a downward trend in overall consumption rates, though changes in lifestyles may be leading to more drinking amongst women and young people. The numbers undergoing treatment for alcohol problems are greater than ever before. Alcohol problems are still perceived as entrenched and non-urgent, but in the present climate of greater stability and prosperity they are beginning to attract more attention from government. Underlying policy trends will depend on the overall direction of Kazakhstan's political and cultural development. This article assesses drinking patterns and related problems in Kazakhstan, and examines government responses and policies. The article is based on documentary research, visits to organisations and interviews.     

Caribbean Women's Migratory Journey

SUMMARY

For Caribbean women who leave their children behind to migrate to the United States, the decision-making process is filled with pain and fraught with ambivalence. In response to open-ended questions about their migratory journey, immigrant women who migrated to New York City describe the process-from initial thoughts about leaving their home country, through the actual move, to their early days in the United States. This case study examines the painful and difficult experiences of undocumented women as they balance feelings of freedom and exhilaration with the challenges of economic survival, leaving their loved ones behind, parenting children from a distance, loneliness, and adjusting to a new environment while supporting themselves and family members at home. This exploratory study identifies the significant milestones in Caribbean women's migratory journey-points at which they access internal and external resources. Practitioners will understand the process, and resources these women call upon. Both the process and the accompanying resources are vital to future work with immigrant women and their families, as well as those women considering migrating and leaving their children behind.     

Crisis,violence and political succession in Africa

This article examines African leadership succession and the effect of crises on the orderliness of succession. The data set consists of 102 successions from 1963-1988, using the African Contemporary Record as our major source. We divide 102 successions into those which are 'regulated,' or rule-directed, and those which are not. We find that about a third of all successions were regulated, and that the presence of a political crisis is the critical obstacle to a regulated succession, more important than either economic or cultural crises. We also find that economic performance is a significant long-term factor in a country's succession record.