A Thesis Submitted to Nazarbayev University School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of Degree Requirements. Director of the MA Program in the School of Political Science and International Relations for Humanities and Social Sciences. However, there is evidence in the academic literature that the nationalist policy of the state is aimed at reviving, strengthening and representing the socio-cultural and political values of ethnic Kazakhs.
The opinions of scholars active in the academic discourse on the current situation of national politics in Kazakhstan vary. I argue that the state has an official multi-ethnic policy that recognizes the principles of multiculturalism, friendship with people and tolerance. The state also realizes a unique multi-ethnic policy by putting Kazakh culture and language as a core of the general Kazakh identity, not excluding other groups.
The contribution of this research to the general literature on nationalism in Kazakhstan is to argue for the multi-ethnic dimension of the Kazakhization process, which is reflected in state discourse and policies, as well as in the urban space of Astana. Their guidance helped me throughout the research and writing of my thesis.
Introduction
An analysis of the urban space in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, finds that the development of Astana is a reflection of the state policy towards nationalism. Academic literature and the official discourse of the country often refer to Astana to shed light on the Kazakhization process. If we argue that the process is top-down, it should be emphasized that there are different state agencies.
They claim that the state is violating the 1995 Constitution and human rights by ignoring the mentality of minorities in the state. The following research claims that the discourse of the President of Kazakhstan and the state is tolerant and attentive to the development of a multi-ethnic society. Research has shown that state actions in support of society's multi-ethnic culture reflect official state policies.
Urban space is a manifestation of banal nationalism and expression of the state's identity policy. In general, the fact that Astana is flourishing as a capital shows economic prosperity and progress of the state in the eyes of its citizens. There are no official announcements from the state about the existence of the Kazakhization process.
Information is available online on the President's official website in three languages (Kazakh, Russian and English).
Official Discourse
Later, from 2004 to 2009, the discourse on the multiculturalism of nationalism in the speeches of the president only intensified. However, since 2010, the president's discourse has been dominated by the special status of the Kazakh identity expressed through culture and language. However, this thesis argues that the Kazakhization process has a multi-ethnic dimension and this is also reflected in the speeches of the president.
To be more concrete, until 2010 the discourse remained almost the same as in the previous period in the AAN of the president. The role of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Eurasian National University, and Eurasian forums were often emphasized in the president's speech. In the transition period, the acceptance of the Kazakh culture and language as the basis for the Kazakh identity was announced.
In the introduction, the president says the state is trying to be part of thirty developed states. The main argument in the discourse is that the Kazakh culture and language serve as a core to the formation of all Kazakhstani identity. The strategic documents of the APK also play a major role in the discourse of multi-ethnic dimension of Kazakhization process.
This model of national identity later served as the basis for official discourse in the speeches of the president from 1997 until the transition period. Further in the text, it is clearly stated that Kazakh culture and language are the core and integral elements of Kazakhstani identity. Discourse chosen for this research in the AAN of the president shows the official side of the discourse.
The transition period to Kazakh identity in the discourse of the president from 2010 may be the result of this protest. In the text it is explicitly written that the Kazakh language and the Kazakh culture have a dominant status. In the mid-1990s, the president in his speeches and programs did not constantly emphasize the role of the Kazakh culture and language.
In fact, in the presidential discourse until 2010, there were no direct and forced policies to learn Kazakh language by all citizens. And the president also often refers to the program in the official speeches of the APK sessions, highlighting its multi-ethnic dimension.
Urban Space of Astana
On the left side of Photo 1, the text is written only in Russian. On the left side of Photo 2 below you can see a promotion for a state unemployment program. The logo of the Rukhani Zhangyru program is on almost every social advertisement across the country.
The billboard on the left side of Photo 6 shows Kazakh ornaments in the background. In front of the building there is a monument to Kerey and Zhanibek Khans, as shown in photo 7 above. The creation of a monument to Kazakh Khans in front of the president's residence shows that the Kazakhization process is taking place in the state's identity policy.
In the old center of Astana, near the former residence of the president, there are many other monuments to Kazakh historical figures. A description of the emblem is given on the official website of the president. The same shanyrak sign is on the facade of the Astana Opera building adjacent to the Boulevard.
Photo 13 below shows the park in the area of the central mosque in the new city center. A fragile yurt stands in the middle of the steppe and welcomes all who come to it. The symbolic meaning of the ornament is given on the official website of the president.
It is impossible to capture all streets in the city for observation and this is not the aim of the research. For Kazakh-speaking population, the letter "a" at the end of the word shows the gender of a person. Then the case is uploaded to the official website of the Mayor (printed on newspaper in the past).
Tussupbekova et al (2017) argue that in the 1960s, Akmolinsk was one of the most important socio-cultural and political centers of Kazakh SSR. The rise of the left bank (new center) required new street names important to the state and society.
Conclusion
In 2012, the president announced for the first time the start of the program Mangilik El, which was not translated into Russian. There are more social ads with civic message: call for cleaner city, love for Astana, the role of the Constitution, sports, health, promotion against corruption and others. This shows that Kazakh appropriation process defined by academic literature takes place in the identity policy of the state.
Kazakhization takes place in the policy of state agencies (presidential office and akimat) towards national identity. I would redefine the term Kazakhization as the current policy of the government, which aims to define, revive and strengthen the Kazakh identity as the core of Kazakh culture, including in the process the culture of other ethnic groups. This is the reason why the Kazakhization literature claims that it is unofficial.
The state representative in the interview said that it is better to use the word acculturation. The urban space of a state capital reflects the state's actual policy regarding national identity building. This is clearly reflected in Astana's urban space in social advertising, monuments, sculptures and street names.
The process is apparently unofficial in the literature because the state does not define the process as kazakhization. State policy on the general plan of the city of Astana as of August 15, 2015 signed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The policy of Kazakhization in state and government institutions in Kazakhstan." The Nationality Questions in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan.
Threading a needle: Kazakhstan between bourgeois and ethno-nationalist state-building." Journal of the Association for the study of ethnicity and nationalism. Artistic archetypal images of the Turkic universe models in the art of modern Kazakh tapestry." Annales:Series Historia et Sociologia Re) construction of citizens through citizenship education in Kazakhstan. The State Program for the Development and Functioning of Languages in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
