‘ADMINISTERING THE SUMMIT’: THE CASE OF KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Kazakhstan was formed as an autonomous Republic within the Russian Federation in August 1920 and became a Republic of the Soviet Union in 1936. In 1989 Nursultan Nazarbayev became head of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. The Supreme Soviet elected Nazarbayev first Kazakh president in 1990 and declared state sovereignty. In December 1991 Nazarbayev won uncontested presidential elections (98% of the vote) and Kazakhstan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 1995 the President’s term of office was extended until 2000 at a nation-wide referendum and in January 1999, in an early election, he was returned for a seven year term by almost 80% of voters. The most recent Presidential elections were held in December 2005 when Nazarbayev won a third term with more than 90% of the vote. The people of Kazakhstan have to live with the aftermath of Soviet-era nuclear testing and toxic waste dumping. President Nazarbayev got rid of the nuclear weapons on Kazakh territory and sees his greatest achievement as building an independent country without violence or a split along ethnic or religious lines. He has also led a period of significant financial and economic reforms (Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 2007). Following independence, Kazakhstan engaged in a programme of economic reforms where prices were liberalized, trade distortions reduced, and small/medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) privatised. The treasury and budget processes were dramatically improved. More recently, a framework for public resource management was introduced which lays the foundation for a modern civil service. The creation of a National Fund (in 2000) to save part of the revenues from oil and other extractive industries has been used to increase social spending and share the benefits of economic growth. Since 2000 the economy has shown significant signs of improvement with GDP annual growth in 2006 at 10.6% (World Bank, 2006). The government is attempting to promote economic diversification and growth in the non-oil sector. Diversification into labour-intensive sectors is necessary for growth in employment and incomes, as well as to reduce the economy’s vulnerability to swings in the price of oil. It is against this political and economic background that we consider politico-administrative patterns in Kazakhstan by examining the actors, structures and processes supporting the administration of the Office of President of Kazakhstan.