The Nazarbayev Generation: Youth in Kazakhstan (Contemporary Central Asia: Societies, Politics, and Cultures)

This social and cultural analysis provides a new understanding of Kazakhstan’s younger generations that emerged during the rule of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been presiding over Kazakhstan for the thirty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Half of Kazakhstan’s population was born after he took power and have no direct memory of the Soviet regime. Since the early 2000s, they have lived in a world of political stability and relative material affluence, and have developed a strong consumerist culture. Even with growing government restrictions on media, religion, and formal public expression, they have been raised in a comparatively free country. This book offers the first collective study of the “Nazarbayev Generation,” illuminating the diversity of the country’s younger generations and the transformations of social and cultural norms that have taken place over the course of three decades. The contributors to this collection move away from state-centric, top-down perspectives in favor of grassroots realities and bottom-up dynamics in order to better integrate sociological data. Contents Introduction Part I. KAZAKHSTANI YOUTH AND NATIONAL IDENTITY Ch01. Are Youth Different? Ch02. Youth and National Identity Ch03. Youth and Civic National Identity Ch04. Mankurts, Kazakh “Russians,” and “Shala” Kazakhs Part II. YOUTH VOICES ON MORAL CHANGES Ch05. “We Love Our Country in Our Own Way” Ch06. “Cognitive Unconscious,” “Modern Conservatism,” and “Core Liberal Values” in the Context of Youth’s National Identity Ch07. Contours of Ethnonational Landscapes in Three Cities Part III. GLOBALIZATION AND CULTURAL BLENDING Ch08. Cultural Globalization and Youth Identity Construction Ch09. Visions of Nationhood Ch10. Rascals, Misfits, Patriots Ch11. Return Migration from the United States Ch12. The Kazakhstan Now! Hybridity and Hipsters in Almaty Part IV. YOUTH ACTIVISM Ch13. #Hashtag Activism Ch14. Contemporary Art as a Public Forum Ch15. Overcoming a Taboo Bibliography Index About the Editor About the Contributors This collective study of the “Nazarbayev Generation” examines the diversity of Kazakhstan’s younger generations. The contributors analyze the transformations of social and cultural norms since the collapse of the Soviet Union.