Legitimation and the Party of Power in Kazakhstan

This chapter surveys the legitimation strategies enacted by the political leadership of the contemporary post-Soviet republic. While showing that Kazakhstan bases its legitimation primarily on international recognition and the country’s economic performance, it also focuses on an institutional dimension of legitimation. The leadership of Kazakhstan has chiefly been relying on Nur Otan, the party of power, for this. The party has contributed to legitimation by enforcing rules in the 1990s; by channeling popular support for the regime’s economic performance in the 2000s; and finally by becoming more responsive to citizens’ requests, thus shifting the regime toward input-related legitimation in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.