Cinq Continents (Apr 2011)
Political representation of ethnic minorities in the Republic of Kazakhstan
Abstract
The article is devoted to the investigation of the political representation of different ethnic groups in multinational Kazakhstan. With gaining the independence, the Republic became home to more than 100 nations, which in turn raise the question of their equal representation in political and social spheres. The general theory on political representation, which was developed in the political literature, is investigated in the article. However, the work is mainly focused on the opportunities for all citizens’ representation, where the legal basis and the political context in the society play a crucial role. For that purpose the Political Opportunity Structure approach is seen as the most suitable, while the special attention is given to the analysis of three components of this method – electoral system, citizenship regime and political party.
