ABSTRACT
Popular attitudes toward different government systems, democratization, and economic reform provide a backdrop against which Central Asians tend to evaluate leadership and demonstrate perhaps the greatest contradictions and challenges. Previous surveys in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have demonstrated relatively widespread support for democratic reform among the Kazakhstan's populations. Although "democracy" has become a catchword used by leaders and the general population. Survey respondents seemed to judge leaders more on their ability to bring order and stability to government and to reduce economic hardship than on other factors. Perceptions of corruption, abuse of power, and organized crime played a major role in shaping respondents' views toward lower-level officials in both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The role of ethnic and national identity in assessing leadership questions is complex. Although ethnic identity was not named as one of the most important traits a politician should have to receive support, it played a critical role, according to respondents, at a more personal level.
