Kazakhstan - Chatham House report

Kazakhstan.

Forum 18, Chatham house report (* pdf)

"Kazakhstan is at a turning point in its history. At face value, at least, Central Asia’s wealthiest state has embarked on a bold experiment following the March 2019 decision by its founding father and long-standing ruler, Nursultan Nazarbayev, to resign from the presidency and initiate a managed political succession. --- the purpose of this report is twofold. First, to make the case for the West to devote more attention to Kazakhstan. The country’s relative importance in Central Asia, and as the constant focus of intense attention from China and Russia, suggests that the West is wrong to direct so little time and diplomatic effort and so few resources towards it. --- The second function of the report is to serve as a well-intentioned message to the leadership of Kazakhstan. The research undertaken by the report’s eight authors shows that Kazakhstan is at risk of failing to achieve the goals its leadership has set for the country. As significant as it has been, the partial stepping aside of Nazarbayev by no means guarantees the modernization and renewal that he and his successor have promised. Far deeper political, economic and social reforms will be needed if Kazakhstan is to meet the growing challenges to its stability, prosperity and development. Street protests since Nazarbayev’s resignation have demonstrated a level of popular disaffection far higher than the authorities acknowledge. The leadership needs to bridge the disconnect between the rulers and the ruled and start listening to its people. --- It also includes a series of recommendations for Western governments and institutions and for the Kazakhstan government. " (Chatham.house.org: "Kazakhstan: Tested by Transition")


Chatham.house.org: "Kazakhstan: Tested by Transition" (full text)
https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/kazakhstan-tested-transition
"A partial handover of political power through an orchestrated transition takes Kazakhstan into uncharted territory. Will it be able to pursue modernization and reform, and break from its authoritarian past?"



"Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a world-leading policy institute based in London. Our mission is to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous and just world."




* Chatham House report (pdf 140 pages)
(Annette Bohr, Birgit Brauer, Nigel Gould-Davies, Nargis Kassenova, Joanna Lillis, Kate Mallinson, James Nixey and Dosym Satpayev Russia and Eurasia Programme | November 2019)
https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/2019-11-27-Kazakhstan-Tested-By-Transition.pdf



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Forum18: "KAZAKHSTAN: Three pastors' convictions "an unjust court decision"
http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2521
"The Judge sentenced Pastor Maximov to five years' imprisonment, and Pastor Maximova and Pastor Zaikin each to four years' imprisonment, according to the verdict seen by Forum 18.

The case against the three pastors is "complete drivel", Евгений Жовтис of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, told Radio Free Europe's Kazakh Service on 26 September. "I have read the verdict. It is nonsense."