| This study examines state-society relations in post-communist Kazakhstan from a civil society perspective. It discusses in detail the historical developments that shaped the growth and decline of civil society development. In contrast to the studies of democratization, which assigns an independent role to civil society in terms of affecting political, social, and economic change in a given context, this thesis treats civil society as a phenomenon subject to competition and influence from various social and political forces, a process that is critical to the growth and strength of civil society institutions. The main finding of the study is that the growth of civil society is a function of political public sphere, in which the state is the prime actor.; The state can affect the growth of civil society by deciding who is a legitimate player in the political public sphere, which is defined in the study as the place where articulated interests and policy demands are compromised into policy decisions. The study identifies the positive impact of the Kazakhstani state on the growth of civil society through its liberal approach to policymaking process in the initial years of the post-communist era. Another contribution by the state policies to civil society initiatives is the inclusive approach of the political leadership toward ethnic minorities, mainly Russians, which increased the degree of these minorities' attachment to the Kazakhstani state. On the other hand, negative impacts from a narrowed political public sphere appear in the decline of civil society initiatives after the state elite altered their course action to become more conservative toward pluralism in the society. |
