A Hybrid Symposium hosted in partnership with the British Embassy in Astana. Held at King’s College London on 4 November 2026 09:30-16:30 GMT.

From our anniversary series – Central Asia 35

Central Asia is gaining strategic weight as global dynamics shift, and Kazakhstan is at the heart of it. In the UK, the country comes up more and more in discussions of energy security, critical minerals, trade routes and commercial opportunity. Yet in government, academia, the media and business, little is understood about the country behind those headlines: its identity, its political evolution and the social change it has been through.

Kazakhstan is the region’s most politically stable and economically advanced state, and it plays a pivotal role in regional diplomacy. As it approaches 35 years of independence, it is still making the journey from Soviet republic to modern nation with a national identity of its own. Its history is part of that story. Nomadic traditions as well as the legacy of Tsarist and Soviet rule continue to shape how the country sees itself and how it is governed.

This symposium looks past transactional engagement to ask more fundamental questions. What kind of country has Kazakhstan become? What historical and structural forces have shaped it? Where is it heading in the mid-2020s? The day moves from historical legacies and decolonisation, through the politics of reform and the country’s economic ambitions, to its remarkable and under-recognised natural and cultural heritage. The aim is a fuller picture of a nation in transformation, and stronger academic, cultural and policy ties between the UK and Kazakhstan.

Session 1: From Empire to Independence: Kazakhstan’s Historical Legacies

This panel explores how imperial and Soviet rule, from the transformation of nomadic life to the political and environmental legacies of the twentieth century, have shaped Kazakhstan’s national identity and ongoing reckoning with its colonial past.

Session 2: Power and Prosperity: Kazakhstan’s Political and Economic Trajectory

Bringing together political and economic perspectives, this panel examines how Kazakhstan’s political institutions and governance are evolving through a pivotal period of reform, and what that means for the country’s development strategy and economic ambitions.

Session 3: Beyond the Steppe: Kazakhstan’s Natural and Cultural Heritage

This closing session brings together the science of Kazakhstan’s landscapes and biodiversity with the culture and identity built upon them, treating the country’s natural and cultural heritage as two sides of the same under-recognised story.

Please find a provisional programme here.