ABSTRACT
Independence in Kazakhstan came by default not struggle, a fact that has had profound effects on the way in which the state has conducted its independent domestic and foreign policies. These policies have been further shaped by domestic and international contexts. Domestically, the most important element, in terms of nation-and state-building, is the presence of a large non-Kazakh minority which only by the late 1990s had been outnumbered by an ethnic Kazakh majority.
