Migrations through Operational Landscapes: Mobile Pastoralism in Kazakhstan’s Urban Society

• In Event: Urban Histories of Central Eurasia: Memory, Mobility, and Modernization

Abstract

The figure of the nomad represents a longstanding connection between mobility and rurality in Kazakh cultural identity. This paper identifies new forms of mobility emerging alongside significant changes in Kazakhstan’s agrarian structure, as vast tracts of land now produce meat to feed urbanizing populations in China and the Gulf States. Drawing from urban theory that questions the urban/non-urban divide, this paper considers how developments in the global food economy are reshaping connections between the city and countryside in Central Asia.

Author

• Mason Smith, UCLA