ABSTRACT
How have Kazakhstan’s economic policy choices since independence affected the country’s political development? The data and analysis presented in this chapter offers a portrait of Kazakhstan as the most successful Central Asian country in terms of measures of both economic and political reform. But to what extent has Kazakhstan’s progress in political development been specifically a product of economic policy? This chapter argues that three factors should be borne in mind as particularly significant in answering this question. First, Kazakhstan is a Eurasian country, simultaneously manifesting cultural features of both Asia and Europe. Kazakhstan’s cultural traditions are more consonant with economic and political institutions of European design than is the case with the other Central Asian countries. Second, Kazakhstan’s close physical, economic, and cultural linkages with Russia tie its development path to that of Russia. Most key industries in Kazakhstan have economic ties to suppliers and consumers in Russia. Kazakhstan’s population, while predominantly ethnic Kazakh, continues to be strongly influenced by Russian traditions and continues to rely heavily on the Russian language for purposes of commerce, science, industry, and culture. Third, Kazakhstan’s natural resource endowment, particularly its oil and mineral wealth, distinguish it from its neighbors by offering great opportunities for economic and political development.
