Kazakhstan Kleptocracy
Authoritarianism and abundant natural resources make a treacherous combination in Kazakhstan.
Reason's December special issue marks the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union. This story is part of our exploration of the global legacy of that evil empire, and our effort to be certain that the dire consequences of communism are not forgotten.
Kazakhstan stretches over 1 million square miles in Central Asia. It is richly endowed with oil, gas, and hard mineral resources. The country has 30 billion barrels of proven petroleum reserves, the 12th largest in the world, and produces some 1.8 million barrels of oil per day. Hydrocarbon output constituted about 70 percent of exports in 2020. Yet those vast natural riches have not stopped the country from slipping into kleptocracy.
As the last former republic to declare independence from the collapsing Soviet Union in December 1991, Kazakhstan was led for nearly 30 years by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev stepped down in 2019 and was followed by his hand-picked successor, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. But Nazarbayev retains the crucial post of chairman of Kazakhstan's Security Council and remains head of the ruling Nur Otan ("Light of the Fatherland") political party.
Analysts suggest that foreign direct investment and links to Western natural resource companies might help moderate corruption in countries like Kazakhstan. But authoritarianism and abundant natural resources are a treacherous combination. In a 2020 article, University of Richmond political scientist Sandra Joireman and her colleagues found that "the institutional reforms we would anticipate because of [economic] linkages have not occurred and those that exist are often cosmetic" in Kazakhstan. The authors suggest that Western companies "are willing to engage in 'commerce under anarchy' and even risk governments seizing property if returns from the investment are high enough."
Nazarbayev established a "neopatrimonial regime," George Washington University international affairs professor Sebastien Peyrouse wrote in 2012. Such regimes can "differ depending upon whether they emphasize political elements (patronage, paternalism, arbitrariness, weakness of institutions, and misuse of public office) or economic ones (endemic corruption, the kleptocracy of the established elite, management of national wealth as private property)," but Nazarbayev's combines elements of both.
Offshore accounts of Nazarbayev family members are estimated to amount to as much as $10 billion. A 2020 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report identified $785 million in foreign real estate holdings by the family. Nevertheless, Kazakhstan's economy has nearly tripled since its post-Soviet low in 1995, even as Nazarbayev's cronies have enriched themselves in dubious ways. GDP per capita has similarly tripled.
The country's individual rights record is less impressive. Out of the 162 countries evaluated in the Cato Institute's 2020 Human Freedom Index, Kazakhstan ranked 90th on personal freedom. In Freedom House's 2021 Nations in Transition report, Kazakhstan garnered a dismal 1.32 out of a possible seven points for democratic progress.
In a March 2020 article, University of Lincoln political scientist Rico Isaacs warned that Nazarbayev's resignation might serve as "an exemplar for other post-Soviet authoritarian leaders to follow whereby they give up the office of president, but not power." Thirty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, it seems Kazakhstanis will have to keep waiting for meaningful democratic reform.
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Nobody from Kazakhstan interviewed?
Western nations (and companies) look to exploit the natural resources from former Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries in a form of neocolonialism.
How do the Kazakhs feel about how things are now versus under Soviet times?
What do they see as their future and what would they like it to be instead?
“From” Kazakhstan or “In” Kazakhstan? I suspect one would get quite difference views depending on one’s circumstances and fear of reprisal. How long until some arm-chair Western expert comes along to suggest the U.S. needs to “nation-build” there?
Also, “in” with the current regime or “out”?
From within. I’m still working on my Romania article and talked with several RO friends from there that still live there. In a different interview, one expat didn’t have a lot to say about the current situation.
Eastern Europe does not need Brussels, Berlin, Vienna or DC to try to solve their issues.
This reminds me of the joke where John Paul Jones said: “I have not yet begun to fight!” One of his sailors replied: “Well, you better start! The Brits are beating the shit out of us!”
If outsiders shouldn’t veer them towards the ways of freedom, they need to veer themselves to get what others got.
Depends on how bad they want Baikonur launch complex.
Kazakhstan is majority Muslim. They don’t like Baikon.
Ronald Bailey, political science correspondent at Emote! Because he sure in shit is no great shakes at STEM. His writings throughout 2020 amply demonstrated that.
Amen.
You guys have not kept up with what Science is in the 21st century.
Democratic reform?? lol…. Isn’t that what Bush sold Iraq?
It baffles me even president can’t figure out what kind of nation the USA is.
“Analysts suggest that foreign direct investment and links to Western natural resource companies might help moderate corruption in countries like Kazakhstan.”
Respect for and protection of private property rights would probably help just a wee bit more. Without that nothing else matters. Any investments could be confiscated or nationalized at any time. Without private property rights, any “meaningful democratic reform” would end up meaning mob rule. But then private property rights are just an evil relic of whitey’s past, amiright?
Wot??? No references to Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan??? What the Hell’s wrong with you people? We’re all losing our touch here!
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Stronski agreed. “Of all the leaders in Central Asia, if we’re going to have a White House meeting and photo op, it makes sense for senior leaders to do this with Kazakhstan,” this website