23 July 2026 – Understanding Kazakhstan: A Conversation on Politics, Economics and Culture

Description

Kazakhstan is often viewed through familiar lenses: as a post-Soviet success story, a resource-rich economy, a strategic middle power balancing Russia and China, or an authoritarian state pursuing gradual reform. Yet these frameworks frequently fail to capture the country’s complexity or explain how it functions in practice. This online discussion brings together two contrasting but complementary perspectives: one grounded in political economy and development, the other in long personal and professional experience of the region. Together, the speakers will explore how stereotypes, external models and conventional wisdom shape our understanding of Kazakhstan, and why culture, history and lived experience are essential to making sense of its politics, economy and society.