Towards a World Without Nuclear Weapons Testing
with Karipbek Kuyukov, ATOM Project Honorary Ambassador and Artist, and Roman Vassilenko, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of KazakhstanThe ATOM Project (Abolish Testing Our Mission) is an international campaign designed to do more than create awareness surrounding the human and environmental devastation caused by nuclear weapons testing. The ATOM Project hopes to affect real and lasting… Continue reading Towards a World Without Nuclear Weapons Testing
Youth in Kazakhstan: Societal Changes, Challenges and Opportunities
9:00am Registration and Breakfast 9:15am Opening Peter Rollberg, Director, IERES, The George Washington University Ambassador Kairat Umarov, Kazakhstan Embassy in the United States 9:30‐10:00am Keynote speaker Ambassador Richard Hoagland, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, US Department of State 10:00‐11:45am Session 1: Youth Identities. National Trends and the Globalization Process Chair: Marlene Laruelle, The George Washington University Douglas Blum, Providence University… Continue reading Youth in Kazakhstan: Societal Changes, Challenges and Opportunities
Prospects for Regional Integration in Central Asia
12:00-12:30pm Lunch 12:30pm Opening remarks. DCM Yerkin Akhinzhanov, Kazakhstan Embassy in the United States Fatema Z. Sumar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs at the U.S. Department of State 1:00-2:30pm. Session I. Regional Integration Projects, Divergences and Challenges Moderator: Margarita Assenova (Jamestown Foundation) Sumona Guha (Policy Planning Staff, U.S. Department… Continue reading Prospects for Regional Integration in Central Asia
Kazakh security policy and its position as a vanguard for East-West cooperation
with Dr. Marcel de Haas, Professor, Nazarbayev University This presentation first describes the foundations of Kazakh security policy, i.e. the key security-related documents, especially the Law on National Security, the Military Doctrine and the Foreign Policy Concept, and the policy aspects derived from them. Next, the different actors in the regional and global security arena –… Continue reading Kazakh security policy and its position as a vanguard for East-West cooperation
The First Bolashak Seminar
9:00am Opening Remarks.Marlene Laruelle (Central Asia Program, IERES, GWU) 9:15-10:00 Panel 1. Societal transformations in Kazakhstan Serik Beissembayev (Social Found “Centre for Social and Political Studies Strategy”) Symbolic Boundaries of Ethnic Identity as an Issue for Nationbuilding in Kazakhstan Zhaslan Nurbaev (Kazakh University of the Humanities and Law, Astana) Regional Opinions on the Threat of Religious… Continue reading The First Bolashak Seminar
Documentary Film Screening: “550 Years of the Kazakh Khanate”
with Mr. Andrey Khazbulatov, Director General of the Kazakh Science and Research Institute of Culture under the Ministry of Culture and Sports The documentary, based on a historical opus “Within the Stream of History,” authored by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, is a riveting visual journey through 550 years of history of the Kazakh people. The epic takes… Continue reading Documentary Film Screening: “550 Years of the Kazakh Khanate”
Political and Economic Trends in Kazakhstan: Risks, Threats, and Prospects
For several years, the Kazakhstani state has been actively expanding its participation in different spheres of public life, and concentrating resources in the financial, political, and media sectors. Several so-called umbrella structures work together in a corporatist logic inside the state structure. This highly centralized political system is strongly personified and has effectively created stability for the elite. Well… Continue reading Political and Economic Trends in Kazakhstan: Risks, Threats, and Prospects
Discussion with Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen, Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen was born in 1971 in Jerusalem, Israel. In 1993, he became assistant to the rabbi of the Grand Choral synagogue in St. Petersburg, Russia, and since 1994 he has been the Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Chief Emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Kazakhstan. Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen is a member of the National Council… Continue reading Discussion with Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen, Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Cinema Club: “The Liquidator” (Kazakhstan 2011)
"Ex-Special Forces officer Arsen sets out to avenge his brother's murder and uncovers a massive conspiracy involving the wealthy and powerful elite as he works his way up through the ranks, eliminating everyone responsible. Subsequently recruited by a clandestine organization of vigilantes, Arsen continues his bloody quest for revenge until his top targets hire a… Continue reading Cinema Club: “The Liquidator” (Kazakhstan 2011)
Kazakhstan Nationbuilding and Kazakh Nationalism: A Debate
A new social activism has emerged in Kazakhstan, organized by different small groups self-defining as Kazakh nationalists. Who are they? What is their audience? What political and national projects do they advance? How do they position themselves toward the current authorities, the relationship to Russia, to the Islamic world, and to their Central Asian neighbors?… Continue reading Kazakhstan Nationbuilding and Kazakh Nationalism: A Debate
Yerken Turganbayev – Regional Disparities in Kazakhstan
Economic development in Kazakhstan was accompanied by increasing disparities across the country's various regions, which has contributed to a number of social and economic problems. The urgency to find a solution to these problems has made research into the dynamics of regional inequality a hot issue for both policymakers and economists, even more so today because of… Continue reading Yerken Turganbayev – Regional Disparities in Kazakhstan
David Kemme & Kassymkhan Kapparov – The Evolution of the National Oil Fund of Kazakhstan: Inception, Utilization and Expectations
The National Oil Fund of Kazakhstan (NOF) was created by Presidential Decree in 2002. Funded by direct taxes and royalties from natural resource producers, it was intended to be a stabilization fund and a savings fund invested outside the Kazakh economy. Withdrawals from the fund are "guaranteed" transfers to the government budget and "targeted"… Continue reading David Kemme & Kassymkhan Kapparov – The Evolution of the National Oil Fund of Kazakhstan: Inception, Utilization and Expectations
Douglas Blum – Cosmopolitan Kazakhs: A Case Study in How Globalization Works
On the basis of extensive fieldwork in Kazakhstan, Douglas Blum considers the experiences of young people who spent time in the US, asking what cultural "baggage" they brought home with them, and whether they were able to incorporate new values and practices into their lives. In answering these questions Blum combines insights from sociological and… Continue reading Douglas Blum – Cosmopolitan Kazakhs: A Case Study in How Globalization Works
CAP Roundtable on “Muslim Middle Class” vs the Islamic State: National Identity and Revolutionary Justice in Kazakhstan
withNoah Tucker RFE/RL, CAP Associate Zhuldyz Tuleouva Kazakhstan Producer of "Not in Our Name," RFE/RL project Serik Beissembayev Strategia Sociological Center, former CAP fellow Aurelie Biard NAC-NU Postdoctoral fellow, GWU Chair Wendell Schwab Pennsylvania State University This roundtable panel will present and discuss preliminary results from new fieldwork, focus groups and video interviews conducted in… Continue reading CAP Roundtable on “Muslim Middle Class” vs the Islamic State: National Identity and Revolutionary Justice in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s Policy on Multilingualism with Jill Neuendorf
Webex Virtual EventIn this presentation, Jill Neuendorf examines the advantages and disadvantages of Kazakhstan’s Trinity Language Program. She presents the findings of qualitative research conducted in Almaty, Kazakhstan in July 2019 with ten Kazakhstani pedagogues who shared their opinion of the Program’s ultimate success or failure. Participants stated that factors such as having a sufficient number of… Continue reading Kazakhstan’s Policy on Multilingualism with Jill Neuendorf
Remembering Kazakhstan’s Great Famine of the 1930s
May 31 marks the Remembrance Day of the Victims of Political Repression and Famine in Kazakhstan. The great famine of 1931–1933, also known as Asharshylyk, resulted from forced collectivization and sedentarization undertaken by the Soviet regime. According to some sources, more than 1.5 million people, approximately one-third of the Kazakh population, perished. Several hundred thousand survivors fled Kazakhstan to… Continue reading Remembering Kazakhstan’s Great Famine of the 1930s
Book Launch – The Cinema of Soviet Kazakhstan 1925-1991: An Uneasy Legacy
The Cinema of Soviet Kazakhstan 1925-1991: An Uneasy Legacy Featuring Peter Rollberg, Professor of Slavic Languages, Film Studies and International Affairs Join us on a journey through the history of Kazakh filmmaking, from Soviet production to national cinema and arthouse phenomenon. Ludmila Pruner, one of the first American scholars to deal with the cinema of Kazakhstan,… Continue reading Book Launch – The Cinema of Soviet Kazakhstan 1925-1991: An Uneasy Legacy
Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb
The Central Asia Program invites you to a Nuclear Policy Talk presented by the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb Featuring author: Dr. Togzhan Kassenova, Project on International Security, Commerce, and Economic Statecraft (PISCES) at the Center for Policy Research, SUNY-Albany Moderated by: Professor Sharon Squassoni, Institute… Continue reading Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb
Modernity, Development and Decolonization of Knowledge in Central Asia: Kazakhstan as a Foreign Aid Donor
Join us for an online book launch with the author Nafissa Insebayeva, discussants Syinat Sultanalieva and Sofya du Boulay. This book joins the discussion on foreign aid triggered by the rise of multiplicity of emerging donors in international development and explores the transformation of Kazakhstan from a recipient country to a development aid provider. Drawing… Continue reading Modernity, Development and Decolonization of Knowledge in Central Asia: Kazakhstan as a Foreign Aid Donor
Concert by a Kazakhstani ethno-folk ensemble TURAN
Elliott School of International Affairs, Room 213 1957 E St NW, WashingtonIn celebration of Nowruz, the Central Asia Program, the Abai Center, and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the United States are thrilled to invite you to a concert program of the Kazakhstani ethno-folk ensemble TURAN. Founded in 2008 by then-students of the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory, the Turan ensemble recreates the sounds… Continue reading Concert by a Kazakhstani ethno-folk ensemble TURAN
Policies on Ethnic Minorities in Kazakhstan
Lindner Family Commons, 6th floor GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs 1957 E St NW, WashingtonWhere Are We Now? Kazakhstan is home to more than 100 ethnic minorities comprising about 30% of the population, reflecting an imperial and Soviet past that sent colonists, dissidents, and minority groups to the region. Both presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have portrayed Kazakhstan as a stronghold of interethnic peace and conducted national identity-building policies based… Continue reading Policies on Ethnic Minorities in Kazakhstan
Nuclear and Biological Nonproliferation: Lessons from Kazakhstan and Central Asiakaza
Stronger than Death memorial, Semei, Kazakhstan. Image Source: astanatimes.com In a world increasingly defined by bellicose rhetoric, nuclear nonproliferation is no longer taken for granted. In a post-Covid world, pandemics threaten public health the world over. Kazakhstan dismantled the world's fourth-largest nuclear arsenal and is a leader in global nonproliferation. Kazakhstan now seeks to create… Continue reading Nuclear and Biological Nonproliferation: Lessons from Kazakhstan and Central Asiakaza
Kazakhstan’s Bloody January: Protest Motivations, Public Perceptions and Human Rights
Online discussion co-organized by the PaperLab Research Center (Astana, Kazakhstan) In the first days of 2022, Kazakhstan witnessed a series of protests that sent shockwaves through the country. The response from authorities was marked by ambiguity, resulting in numerous casualties and injuries. To this day, a clear understanding of the events remains elusive. During this… Continue reading Kazakhstan’s Bloody January: Protest Motivations, Public Perceptions and Human Rights
Book presentation: “Mystical Forest: Collected Poems and Short Stories of Dungan Ethnographer Ali Dzhon”
Born in Shor-Tyube, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR, in 1951, Dungan ethnographer and creative writer Ali Dzhon is widely regarded as the pre-eminent writer on the material and spiritual culture and history of the Dungan people, the Sinophone Muslims of Central Asia. Mystical Forest makes available for the first time in English a significant collection of Dzhon’s… Continue reading Book presentation: “Mystical Forest: Collected Poems and Short Stories of Dungan Ethnographer Ali Dzhon”
