Articles
The second half of May was a tense period of waiting for the presidential election results not only for Türkiye, but also for Central Asian states. The possible change of the leader of the Republic of Türkiye has made members of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) once again assess the value of their political and economic relations with Ankara ruled by one person for 20 years. The reporter of CABAR.asia spoke to political analysts of Central Asian states about it. Even after the convincing victory of Recep Tayyip, we are still interested in what our experts have to say to our question, “Who, if not Erdogan?”
The society of Kazakhstan is often blamed for immaturity. Authorities tend to call civil protests marginal, and blame people for dependency from time to time. However, urban activism that has been widespread in recent years in Astana has become the model of struggle for political participation in the city’s life and the ability of civic activists to promote public interests constructively despite difficult dialogue with authorities.
Schoolgirls wearing hijabs and headscarves have divided the society of Kazakhstan. Some call the ban on wearing religious head covering the oppression of girls. Others believe this ban is a normal practice in a secular state. Still others develop the model of a headscarf acceptable for schools. (more…)
Kazakhstan has approved the information doctrine. Its purpose is to ensure information security in the country “amid historical turbulence.” Will the document be able to protect freedom of speech, which is recognised in the doctrine as the basis of interaction between participants of information sphere? (more…)
The war between Russia and Ukraine has broken the trend of departure of ethnic Russians from Kazakhstan to their historical homeland. The number of those changing their place of residence has dropped sharply. But experts say it is a temporary lull. (more…)
Tax officers are making publicly available the list of people who are funded from foreign sources in the second half of 2023. CABAR.asia figures out why the authorities have introduced this amendment. (more…)
The European Commission announced the upcoming 11th package of anti-Russian sanctions, which will be now not against Russia, but against third countries supplying sanctioned goods to the Russian Federation. Central Asian states fell under suspicion because they boosted their exports to Russia in 2022. In March, the EU Special Representative made an ‘inspection’ visit to Kyrgyzstan, and similar meetings will be held in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at the end of April. (more…)
Since 2011, religious associations in Kazakhstan have been forced to choose: either register or stop existing. Representatives of the authorities believe that registration will stop radical ideas from spreading. But human rights defenders see it as an excessive control by the state over law-abiding citizens. (more…)
Kazakhstan summarised the results of extraordinary elections to the lower house of parliament (Mazhilis) and local governments (maslikhat). The voting process was a part of the political reform declared by President Tokayev after the January protests one year ago. However, these elections showed the lowest voter turnout in recent years, while independent observers reported many violations. (more…)
Some Central Asian states speak about decolonisation of the region more often. Local communities try to rethink their links to the Soviet history and culture, and also call for breaking free from the influence of Russia. Moreover, almost every country has unsolved issues that can hamper decolonisation processes.