ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the doctrines and rhetorical maneuverings employed by the present Kazakstani authorities in an attempt to divine the most likely outcome, the political integration of all residents, or the political exclusion of segments of the population. It reviews the institutional reforms that have been implemented in Kazakstan. In Kazakstan, the only post-Soviet republic where no ethnic group had a majority at the outset of independence, it would be natural to have expected the nation-builders to emphasize civic aspects rather than focusing on ethnicity. Moreover, ethnicities are in flux in Kazakstan, not only among the multiethnic Russian-speaking population, but also among the titular Kazaks. In Kazakstan's inventory of ethnic groups one finds Chechens, Ingush, Germans, Meskhetian Turks, Koreans, and Poles. In Kazakstan, nation-building doctrines are explicit. They are presented as authoritative documents written by the President after having been subject to some public debate and consultation in advance.
