For Kazakhstan, the year started with the unprecedented January riots, a stress test for the country and the government. President Tokayev announced significant political reforms and the decision to accelerate systemic transformations. However, in light of the sweeping geopolitical changes in Eurasia related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, it remains to be seen whether Kazakhstan’s push for democratization and economic liberalization can be effective.
SPEAKERS
Nargis Kassenova, Senior Fellow and Director of the Program on Central Asia, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies (Harvard University)
Yerkin Tukumov, Director, Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies
Gavin Helf, Senior Expert on Central Asia, the U.S. Institute of Peace
Maureen Haggard, DRL/SCA Office Director Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor the U.S. Department of State
Moderator: Marlene Laruelle, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies; Director of the Central Asia Program; Director of the Illiberalism Studies Program; Co-Director of PONARS Eurasia; and Research Professor of International Affairs at The George Washington University.