Although Nursultan Nazarbayev, during his election campaign vowed to stay at the helm as long as his health permits, in the corridors of power the undercurrent wrangling for the crown of the 70 year old ruler seems to be already underway. Nazarbayev, who has no... MORE

Kazakhstan is increasingly uncomfortable within the Customs Union with Belarus and Russia due to the constant attempts by the Kremlin to politicize the structure originally intended to boost trade relations and ensure free movement of citizens, goods and capital within the union. Recently, Grigoriy Onishenko... MORE

On April 15-16, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev adopted a “Road Map” for 2011-2014 to strengthen the strategic partnership between India and Kazakhstan, signing seven agreements in areas as diverse as energy, cyber security, space exploration, education, and hi-tech development,... MORE

The Caspian nations have reiterated pledges to solve their differences later this year ahead of the Caspian summit in Moscow, but they apparently continued to disagree on a number of key issues. During a meeting in Baku on April 26 – 27, representatives of the... MORE

The expected cabinet reshuffle in Kazakhstan following President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s landslide re-election victory on April 3 and inauguration five days later was relatively sparing.  Although one-third of the ministers – or 6 out of 18 – were replaced, most of the government heavyweights, including the... MORE

As global nuclear energy demand grows, countries possessing uranium reserves are poised to reap enormous economic and political dividends from production and export of this resource. Yet, the gains may come with costs as global rivalry accelerates among major powers, concurrently enhancing environmental, health, and... MORE

Reelected on April 3 (“A close-up view of Kazakhstan’s presidential election,” EDM, April 4), President Nursultan Nazarbayev intends to oversee a cautious transition to political and institutional pluralism in Kazakhstan during this five-year presidential term.In Kazakhstan’s circumstances, a successful orderly transition to democracy necessitates gradual... MORE

On April 3, more than nine million voters in Kazakhstan went to the polls to participate in the early presidential election. The final results of the voting announced by the Central Election Commission on April 5, indicates that the incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev garnered 95.5... MORE

As with other great powers, today or in history, the United States has been pressured to balance ends and means to retain its influence in the world, currently marked by power shifts away from the West. The government’s proposed budget of $3.73 trillion for 2012... MORE

An independent group of election observers released in Astana today its assessment of Kazakhstan’s April 3 presidential election. Comprised mostly of political and economic analysts from Washington think-tanks (including the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Institute for New Democracies, Hudson Institute, Georgetown University and... MORE