Kazakhstan at the Crossroads of the 21st Century

                            Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Photo: RIA Novosty)

                            by David Parmer

If all goes well, the beginning of the 21st century will be remembered as the beginning of the rise of Kazakhstan to world power. Kazakhstan could easily become another Singapore; it has many of the same elements that worked in favor of making that country a world-class success including an extremely favorable location, political stability and a multi-ethnic society.

 And now, history seems to favor this Central Asian country. China has proposed a New Silk Road and has allocated funds for its promotion. New rail traffic will flow through Kazakhstan making it the crossroads of the resurgence of the region.

Moreover, where Singapore is blessed by its location, Kazakhstan, in addition to location, is blessed with petrochemical and mineral wealth.  The world’s ninth largest country is also blessed with abundant nature. It has rivers, mountains  and plains of breathtaking beauty that are an incredible asset for its tourism industry.  Kazakhstan will host Expo 2017 with the theme “Future Energy” and welcome visitors from around the world. As for political stability, Kazakhstan’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev has just been re-elected for a fifth term, so politically one can expect “business as usual.”

                         Almaty Oblast Kazakhstan (aboutkazakhstan.com)

 

The plus side of the equation looks pretty good, but what about the minus side? There are several issues that confront Kazakhstan in this century.

The  U. S. government lists some of them as:

• National identity
• Islamic revival
• Expanding resources and exporting
• Political and social reform

 Of these, perhaps the first two are the most salient. The country has a slightly higher percentage of Kazaks to Russians, the two main ethnic groups in the country.

The challenges for the 21st century are avoiding the dangers of Russian nationalism and separatism and Islamic extremism. Kazakhstan has only been independent since 1991, a very short time on the calendar of history. Can the people of Kazakhstan forge a national identity that supersedes ethnic and religious differences?

With a strong national identity, Kazakhstan can withstand the give and take of national politics and remain united, and at the same time enjoy its good fortune in terms of resources and geographical location. Kazakhstan is indeed at a crossroads, and time will tell which road it takes into this century and beyond.

                                    Astana, Kazakhstan by Night ( Photo: aboutkazakhstan.com)