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02. School of Sciences and Humanities

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Open Access
Postcolonial readings of Oralkhan Bȯkei’s works
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Berdikhojayeva, Laura
This study explores the relationship between literature and the social, historical, political and cultural themes in the literary works of the Kazakh writer Oralkhan Bȯkei. It discusses the postcolonial aspects of Bȯkei’s literary texts and analyzes the themes of colonialism, hybridity, ethnic nationalism, modernization and industrialization, and postcolonial environmentalism in his works. This study argues that postcolonial readings of Oralkhan Bȯkei’s literary oeuvre can reveal anti-colonial as well as postcolonial discourses existing in post-Stalin Kazakh Soviet literature. Through applying some of the concepts of postcolonial studies such as hybridity, subalterneity, representation, mainly developed in Western scholarship, to the experience of the Kazakh society under the Soviet Union, this work attempts to explore the author’s perception of the Soviet Union as an empire and its threat in destroying the national culture of Kazakh society and Kazakh national identity.
Open Access
Burabay national park. Experiments in tourism, nationbuilding, and informal economy
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Nurmukhanov, Nursultan
This work analyzes how environment and society interact with each other focusing on the case of Burabay National Park. Based on the field research and numerous interviews, this work demonstrates how seemingly disparate notions of top-down nation-building and tourism development have shaped into a site with unique attributes. One part of the picture is the puzzle of how nation-building process fostered by other variables such as tourism development and environmental awe could give a birth to completely new objects of sacral landscape that operate in terms similar to other famous pilgrimage destinations in the Central Asia. The other part is development of the informal economy and a set of principals according to which the local society has to operate in order to be competitive in the National Park. I believe that the findings of this work could significantly contribute to the as yet very limited literature on tourism development in Kazakhstan as well as provide analysis of an interesting case of a nation-building process.
Open Access
Juggling risk: lay perceptions of ecological and health risk in post-soviet mono-industrial Temirtau
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Prilutskaya, Xeniya
Temirtau is a mono-industrial post-Soviet city in Central Kazakhstan. Its large steel mill has caused serious environmental pollution for several decades already. This thesis focuses on how residents of Temirtau think about and deal with environmental and health risk. It considers how environmental discourse began to develop during the Soviet era and how it changed across the post-Soviet years, emphasizing the influence of political and cultural factors. Based on the analysis of the media discourses on environmental problems and industrial risks in Temirtau starting from the 1980s until the late 1990s, I argue that although Temirtau has not experienced natural or anthropogenic disaster such as those witnessed in Chernobyl or Fukushima, nevertheless Temirtau residents experienced a breakdown in public trust over the period from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. This breach of trust was connected with Perestroika and Glasnost.
Open Access
Monstrous femininity in kazakh folklore: delineating normative and transgressive womanhood
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Karazhanova, Inzhuna
Representations of the feminine as monstrous can be found in any type of narrative from ancient mythology to modern video games. Witches, succubi, female vampires, sirens, furies, mermaids, possessed women, ghost women, etc. represent the female body and womanhood as Other, grotesque and abject, as well as demonise women who live in transgression to normative constraints of a patriarchal society. This work looks at the images of the monstrous-feminine within the Kazakh fairy tale: Zhalmauyz Kempir, Zheztyrnaq and Albasty—and argues that how these characters are presented, situated and treated in their narratives can tell us what is deemed acceptable and what is considered as violation of the established gender order. Through examining these characters, the conditions for the different representations and roles they inhabit, as well as comparing them to idealised positive heroines, this work seeks to identify how femininity and womanhood are represented in Kazakh folklore, and what those representations can tell us about gender roles, relations, and attitudes to female desire, power, autonomy and transgression of social norms.
Open Access
The development of social capital among Bolashak graduates and the Alumni of other international programs in Astana
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Akhmetov, Alibek
In this master’s thesis I focus on the development of social capital among Kazakhstani youth. In particular, I aim to investigate the way people with international qualifications enrich their social capital in Astana. Upon return to Kazakhstan, the international graduates join different (sometimes multiple) social networks which are involved in a variety of activities including but not limited to charity, team building, public meetings with state officials, volunteering in orphanages. In the thesis I analyze two social groups, Bolashak Association and Astana Alumni Association, which mainly operate in Astana. I draw primarily on James Coleman’s conceptual framework, which supports an analysis of both the personal and social utility of social capital. In addition, such dimensions of social capital as bonding and bridging and Bourdieu’s concept of habitus are employed to understand the graduates’ rationale to become part of the social groups.
Open Access
Captivity and empire: Russian captivity narratives in fact and fiction
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Gao, Yuan
This thesis studies Russian captivity narratives about Central Asia produced during the nineteenth century. Focusing on the captivity theme, this thesis explores diverse individual captivity stories written within the grand context of Russia’s expansion into Central Asia. It aims to show that captivity narratives not only tell of the vulnerability and uncertainty of the empire during its expansion, but also reveal the rapid shift of power in Central Asia in the nineteenth century. They witness Russian captives’ growing awareness of Central Asia as a site of Russia’s future colonization, and the captives’ self-awareness of their Russian and imperial identity...
Open Access
Choosing aid: when do states becomes donors?
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Kazhikenova, Aisulu
The objective of this thesis is to investigate the conditions under which states become foreign aid donors. While the number of aid donors has dramatically increased in recent years, we know little about when states choose to become donors. By extending two existing theories of foreign aid allocations, I argue that there are three key factors driving states to give aid: the level of individual income, the overall level of governmental resources, and the size of winning coalition. I test these hypotheses using a newly collected data on states’ donorship. The statistical findings suggest that states are more likely to become foreign aid donors when the level of their citizens’ income and their governmental resources increase, providing support for my hypotheses. Surprisingly, the findings also suggest that states with smaller winning coalitions are more likely to become aid donors. It is contrary to the expectations that democratic regimes are primary donors of foreign aid. This thesis contributes to the literature on foreign aid by examining a new question about aid initiations, offering a new dataset on aid donorship, and providing statistical evidence that calls for new theoretical explanations.
Open Access
Legacies, bribes or culture? Prosecuting large-scale drug-trafficking in Kazakhstan
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Turlubekova, Zhaniya
Several recent criminal cases against high-ranking Kazakhstani Ministry of Internal Affairs officials who had been charged with organizing drug dealing groups of 30 to 50 members within their departments have exposed sophisticated criminal operations involving significant flows of cash, narcotics, and corrupt influence. Some of these officers have been convicted and sent to prison right away, others have been initially released only to find themselves convicted and sentenced to imprisonment a few years later, yet others escaped the punishment. How can we explain this mixed, successful yet protracted criminal prosecution of corrupt police officers who have been protecting drug dealing groups in what many view as corrupt political system? Drawing on the evidence gained from the analysis of mass media reports on drugrelated topics, Kazakhstani criminal legislation and court records, from interviews with the law-enforcement officials dealing with drug-trafficking (detectives, investigators, judges, lawyers, criminals, etc.), and from participant observation of criminal trials of police officers in Kostanay, I argue that the structure of internal and external incentives accounts for both police involvement in organized crime and the mixed success in combatting it. Strong internal incentives arise from Soviet legacies such as formal statistical evaluation of police officers’ performance and from informal subculture within these law-enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, weaker external incentives arise from imperfect legislation, pressure from politicians, an inter-agency competition and highly developed practices of corruption, all of which weakens law enforcement’s the ability to prosecute both organized crime and corrupt officials. I conclude that modern Central Asian states are too weak to prosecute a relatively new type of transnational crime such a drug trafficking. More broadly, this helps advance our theoretical understanding of how formal and informal political institutions interact in different political orders.
Open Access
Do arms have influence? Exploring the effect of transferred weapons` military capabilities on recipients` level of foreign policy cooperation
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Sadykova, Almira
This thesis investigates the impact of transferred weapons’ military capabilities on recipients’ level of foreign policy cooperation. While previous research use financial data to assess the impact of transferred arms, I directly look at the technical characteristics of delivered weapons in order to evaluate their effect on importer states’ behavior. I partially draw on Fearon’s (1998) theory of foreign policy cooperation and extend it. Particularly, in my theory I consider both formal and informal cooperation processes. I argue that recipients take into account the type and sophistication level of transferred weapons while deciding whether to adjust their foreign policies or not. The results of statistical analyses suggest that this proposition holds for some categories of arms while not for the others. Namely, theoretical expectations were supported statistically for aircraft category in general and transport aircraft in particular. By using new measure for the evaluation of weapon shipments, the findings of the project contribute to scholarly literature on arms transfers, influence and foreign policy decision-making.
Open Access
Female political participation and barriers that women face in politics: lessons from post-soviet Kazakstan and Belarus
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Satymbekova, Raikhan
Women’s participation in politics has increased across the globe in the last 50 years, and this trend is not limited to Western democracies. For example, post-Soviet Belarus and Kazakhstan, both presidential autocracies and signatories to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), have seen women’s political participation increase in recent years. However, there are more women in politics in Belarus than in Kazakhstan. What can explain this variation? Comparing the number of women in the parliaments of Belarus and Kazakhstan over time, I find that the demand for domestic or international support, the extent to which a country is politically and socially linked with other states in the world, and presidential goals jointly influence female political participation. An increase in women in parliament are not evidence of promoting democratization and democratic representation, but rather deliberate authoritarian strategies to bolster regime resilience and presidential power. Importantly, these findings help advance our understanding of female political participation beyond the western world and beyond the democratization paradigm.
Open Access
Targeted sanctions: when are they effective?
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Kabdulinova, Azhar
Given the increasing use of targeted sanctions despite the ongoing debate on the effectiveness of targeted versus non-targeted sanctions in the existing literature, the aim of this thesis is to investigate when targeted sanctions are more likely to be effective than non-targeted sanctions in terms of achieving desired policy objectives. The thesis achieves this aim in several steps. First, instead of debating on sanctions effectiveness in general, this work aims to disaggregate sanctions by their “targetedness” which allow us to see how the design might influence the success of sanctions. Second, using selectorate framework (Bueno de Mesquita et al. 2005) as a starting point of my theory, I explore whether designing sanctions in accordance with political institutional constraints of the targeted state can predetermine sanctions success. Third, given the importance of the threat stage along with the imposition stage, I examine the effect of sanctions design at two different stages of a sanction episode. To account for the threat and imposition stages on empirical part, I use an updated Threat and Imposition of Economic Sanctions dataset (Morgan, Bapat, and Kobayashi 2014), which is the only dataset that embraces both stages of a sanction episode. The underlining argument of this study claims that targeted sanctions can be effective if articulated in accordance with the targeted state’s conditions. Specifically, the model suggests that in small winning coalitions, targeted sanctions are more likely to be effective than non-targeted sanctions. While empirical evidence on the imposition stage provides mixed support for theoretical arguments, findings on the threat stage allow me to claim that the design of sanctions do have positive relationship on sanctions success. Thus, the clear implication of this study for policymakers entails that choosing the right design of sanctions consistent with targeted state’s political conditions is one of the crucial (but often times neglected) determinants of sanctions effectiveness
Open Access
Coal, power, and Kyoto protocol: regulating greenhouse gas emissions in Poland and Kazakhstan
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Zhekey, Ainur
This thesis focuses on coal-using power generation companies’ behavior under state policies and the outcomes of greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts (as a result of the Kyoto Protocol and COP 21) of two countries, Poland and Kazakhstan. Why did these countries differ in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions levels as both have followed the same Kyoto Protocol’s obligations and both have similar coal production and consumption rates? Addressing this empirical question helps investigate broader theoretical questions of how and why some countries take implementation of international regimes seriously while others do not. Is the difference due to faulty international agreement or due to domestic politics, which shape the implementation of, or failure to implement, international environmental obligations? To understand this difference deeper I used two embedded case studies, analyzed government documents and company GRI reports, data from International Energy Statistics (EIA), ‘United Nations Framework on Climate Change’ (UNFCCC), ‘Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’ (IPCC), and environmental policies for sustainable development, and conducted interviews with 10 employees and managers from a coal-powered generation company in Kazakhstan. On the basis of my evidence, I have reached the following three conclusions. First, domestic political constraints as defined by financial, informational, and personnel constraints in Kazakhstan were stronger than in Poland, and Kyoto’s approach to tackle the emissions issue was not effective. Second, European Union (EU) membership helped Poland to reduce its emissions as it both pressured Poland to implement environmental obligations and helped reduce domestic political constraints. Third, the difference between the political regimes of two nations (Poland being a “flawed democracy”; and Kazakhstan being an “autocracy”) was not sufficient to explain for why international agreements work for Poland and do not work for Kazakhstan. Many scholarly works exist that examine environmental impact reduction in Poland and its performance under the international climate change agreements; however, there is a void in the existing literature for Kazakhstan due to its comparatively slow reform process.
Open Access
Strategic ambivalence above, selective implementation below: an institutional analysis of Kazakhstan`s policy toward skilled labor
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Issabekova, Makhabbat
Aiming at entering the top thirty most competitive economies in the world by 2050 Kazakhstan faces a problem of inadequate human capital. However, an objective demand for foreign skilled workers notwithstanding, Kazakhstan fails to attract as many of them as its labor market needs. Driven by this puzzle, the given study analyzes labor migration policy of Kazakhstan regarding skilled workers. It attempts to explain what factors make Kazakhstani labor migration policy ineffective under the condition when skilled foreign workers are needed. Two main factors influence the outcomes of labor migration policy implementation: decentralized decision-making and strategic ambiguity. Transferring the function of policy implementation to local-level bureaucratic institutions the state not only shifts its responsibilities to bureaucrats but also provides them with a certain degree of autonomy and discretion. However, the state and its institutions have no a coherent vision of the national interest in labor migration. Bureaucrats concerned with their professional duties have a more protectionist stance on foreign specialists’ inflows. Meanwhile, aimed at increasing these inflows the state ensures its interest through strategic ambiguity in its discourse and practices. It allows the state to reconcile an economic need in more foreign skilled workers with a political demand for a more restrictive labor migration policy. Thus, starting from above ambiguity is manipulated by local bureaucrats to meet their professional and, occasionally, personal interests when implementing the policy. As a result, the state fails to attract the needed numbers of foreign specialists. In other words, the policy through which the state aims to achieve its goals turns to be ineffective. This thesis demonstrates that an institutional approach with an emphasis on the bureaucratic model of decision-making is a better way to understand the reasons of labor ix migration policy ineffectiveness in Kazakhstan. However, it also shows that when bureaucrats are involved in the policy-making process the findings from this case can be applied to the countries other than Kazakhstan and public policies other than migration
Open Access
U.S. Covert Actions: The Explosure Effect and the President`s popularity
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Sharipov, Aibar
Does the revelation of covert actions affect a leader’s popularity? The primary purpose of this study is to investigate whether such effect exists and, if yes, to determine the extent to which it has an influence on the U.S. President’s popularity. This thesis consists of preliminary case classification part, from which I proceed to my qualitative studies of the matter. The case classification part consists of 16 cases of U.S. covert actions during the Cold War period. I classify my cases based on whether they have been exposed or not, as well as I look whether their exposure had an effect on the U.S. President’s popularity. If there was an effect, I further differentiate them depending on their regime type. This procedure helped me to select my two in-depth case studies. I have conducted two in-depth case studies of U.S. covert actions in Chile (1970-73) and Nicaragua (1980s). Throughout the case studies, I have examined the effect of exposure on popularity in the following dimensions: media coverage, congressional investigations, presidential approval ratings, and election results. Based on the results of case studies, it is concluded that the disclosure of covert actions had a less significant effect that lasted on a temporary basis and did not have a major impact in a longer perspective. Overall, this study advances our understanding of causal mechanisms that shape the effect of covert actions’ exposure in influencing a U.S. President’s popularity.
Open Access
The formation of interregional trade agreements: which factors provoke trade blocs to cooperate?
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Abilkassymov, Bekzada
Recently we have observed cooperation between trade blocs as the European Union, the Andean Community, Mercosur, ASEAN and others. These actors have started to negotiate a possibility of trade agreements between each other. What did provoke regional trade blocs to form and proliferate this kind of arrangements in trade? How it can be explained through a theoretical standpoint of international relations? I attempt to answer for these questions in this paper. Generally, the research constructs an explanation for the formation of interregional trade agreements through bargaining theory by emphasizing the roles of trade gains, depth of integration within a bloc, a level of developments, membership and disputes history in the WTO. The results demonstrate positive and significant influence of trade gains, depth of integration and membership in the WTO, while disputes history affected significantly but negatively interregional cooperation. There is an important implication for policy-makers in applying this information for calculation of possible trade agreements between blocs
Open Access
TRADERS OF THE CENTRAL BAZAAR IN ASTANA: A PERSPECTIVE ON MOTIVES AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2017) Baitas, Meiirzhan
This MA thesis focuses on the Central Bazaar traders in Astana that were recruited via convenience and snowball sampling. The goal of the research is to investigate the reasons for becoming a trader, identifying factors that lead to the decision to become a trader, and the role of social networks in traders’ lives. In this paper I employ the bottom-up approach to research informal markets as opposed to macro perspective and thus I focus life stories of traders. The research fills the gap in the literature of informal markets by addressing the relationship between one’s motives and social networks in trade.
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TELECOMMUNICATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2017) Assylbek, Yerbolat
The study examines the evidence of the impact of the telecommunication infrastructure on economic growth. First, the paper investigates relationship between the mobile/land-line phones and the economic growth by using Arellano-Bond difference generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator. Like a few previous studies, this paper takes into account potential endogeneity between economic growth and telecommunications variables. At the same time, this study pays attention of varying degree of land-line penetration and mobile phones expansion. The marginal impact from using mobile phones is higher where the traditional fixed-phones phones are used less. The results show that mobile phones play an important role in economic development across 29 countries from 2002 to 2015. The results are consistent with previous studies.
Open Access
INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN KAZAKHSTAN: STATE POLICIES AND INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2017) Tazhibayeva, Aliya
This thesis deals with the interpretation and implementation of internationalization of higher education in Kazakhstan at national and institutional levels. The goal of the study is to find out how internationalization of higher education is defined in the national policy documentation and in universities’ development strategies on education, and how that interpretation is similar/different to those appearing in academic literature, and how it is reflected in the universities’ practices of internationalization. For the purposes of the research, the exploratory mixed methods design was implemented, including conduction of (1) a framework analysis of the national policy documentation, (2) a framework analysis of some Kazakhstani national and state universities’ development strategies, (3) a series of in-depth interviews with representatives of national and state higher education institutions, and (4) an anonymous onlinesurvey among all national and state universities of Kazakhstan.
Open Access
LANGUAGE IDEOLOGIES OF KAZAKHSTANI YOUTH: THE VALUE OF KAZAKH IN THE CONTEXT OF A CHANGING LINGUISTIC MARKETPLACE
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2017) Akanova, Gulnar
This paper focuses on language ideologies of contemporary Kazakhstani young people based on fieldwork conducted in the new capital city of Astana. The Kazakhstani younger generation has complex language ideologies regarding the value of Kazakh, Russian, and English which affect young people’s use of languages in different contexts. Russian is not likely to lose its value in the near future, while the current trends promise an increase in popular support for the use of Kazakh.
Open Access
Informal Competition in Kazakhstan
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2017) Sarsenbayeva, Aigerim
The size of the informal economy in Kazakhstan declined from 42.6% in 1999 to 33.8% in 2015. The informal economy can make an important contribution to solving the problem of fiscal deficit without forgoing economic growth and employment. In my thesis, I am evaluating the effect of competition stemming from informal firms on the of formal enterprises. I conduct fixed and changing structure analysis to understand the underlying factors behind the decline in the informal sector competition in Kazakhstan. In my research I use European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Business Environment and Enterprise Performance (BEEPs) 2008-2009 and 2012-2013 surveys. This is the period that covers financial crisis and enables the study of the structure of the informal competition faced by registered firms at the micro level. The present study utilises firm-specific variables, industry specific variables and business environment. For corruption and taxes I use industry averages to address the issue of endogeneity. My findings suggest that more than 90% of the decline in the informal competition can be attributed to the socio-economic changes. Focusing on the observed heterogeneity the main contributors to the decline in the rate of the informal competition are due to an educated workforce, access to finance, losses due to theft, transportation as an obstacle to current operations and the services sector. The changes in firm size, taxes and labour regulations have kept competition from decreasing even further.