The Unraveling of Kazakhstan’s Social Contract
1 year, 11 months ago

The Unraveling of Kazakhstan’s Social Contract

The Diplomat  

There are many ways to interpret Qandy Qantar – meaning “Bloody January” in Kazakh, a reference to the unrest and violence of early 2022 – and the evident popular dissatisfaction with the state of the political economy in the country. One thing has become clear: The old social contact created under Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is no longer satisfactory to the majority of Kazakhstan’s people. Tokayev’s “appointment” to the presidency in 2019 took place after Nazarbayev, who had been in power for nearly 30 years, stepped down. Nazarbayev’s Social Contact: The Papa Era Strong public dissatisfaction in 2022 can be contrasted to the 2000s, when Nazarbayev was lovingly nicknamed “papa.” The social contract during the “papa” era was simple: The people were given basic economic freedoms to start businesses, engage in services, and organize a relatively comfortable lifestyle for their families. Nazarbayev’s family and friends also gained control over supporting infrastructure responsible for the delivery of natural resources and distribution of rents: Nazarbayev’s cousin, Serik Ahmetov, was in charge of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, Samruk-Kazyna; services of extractive companies, such as KazMunayGas and KazTransOil were conveniently managed by Nazarbayev’s sons-in-law; and transportation of resources to international markets remained in the hands of Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter, Dariga – besides railways, she also had connections to major airports.

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