Legislating Stability? Perceptions of the Kazakhstani Leadership’s New Anti-Corruption Laws

• In Event: Sustaining Leadership Systems From the Local to the International Stage

Short Description

In January 2016, Kazakhstan’s leadership developed and implemented new legislation to combat the pervasive corruption in all sectors of society. This qualitative study seeks to understand how the perceptions of university students in Kazakhstan, who study public policy and political science/international relations, perceive the effectiveness of the new anti-corruption law.

Detailed Abstract

Introduction
Kazakhstan desires to be among the thirty most developed nations in the world by 2050. The initiative to accomplish this is called “Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy” (Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy). Kazakhstan has identified ten global challenges their leadership must overcome in the current turbulent times. Considering this, Kazakhstan’s leadership has worked diligently to develop an intricate plan of 100 Concrete Steps to move society toward a “modern state for all” (Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy) of being among the thirty most developed nations. The thirteenth step is, “Strengthening the fight against corruption, including development of new legislation” (Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy). In December 2015, Kazakhstan’s President decreed the formation of new laws to combat corruption and a new ministry in the government to implement the laws beginning in January 2016 (The Agency).

Problem
The Kazakhstani government implemented new laws in January 2016 to combat corruption. The purpose of these laws was to form a new structure of laws that addresses the loopholes in the previous laws and to conform to international anti-corruption standards. The President created a new ministry and appointed its leadership to implement this change. However, it is difficult to forecast the recipients’ perceptions of change (Rogers, 2003). Therefore, it remains unknown how Kazakhstanis perceive the effectiveness of the leadership’s new laws on combatting corruption.

Framework
The international image of Kazakhstan has been tainted by the profuseness of corruption. International organizations have criticized Kazakhstan for the high concentration of corruption. The Kazakhstani President has acknowledged the presence of corruption and how it damages and creates instability in the country. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence points to a general knowledge of the pervasiveness of corruption in the country. Thus, the Kazakhstani government invested much time and effort to develop a new set of laws to combat corruption, which were implemented in January 2016. This basic qualitative study will attempt to understand how university students who study public policy and political science/international relations perceive the effectiveness of the new laws.

Questions and Content
The central research question guiding my study is: How do Kazakhstani university students majoring in public policy and political science/international relations perceive the effectiveness of the new laws developed by Kazakhstan’s leadership to combat corruption?
Sub Questions:
• What information have the participants learned from the media or other sources about the new laws from Kazakhstan’s leadership to combat corruption?
• How have the new laws curbed corruption in Kazakhstan more than in previous years?
• What differences have the participants noticed since 2016 that evidence progress in the leadership’s effort to combat corruption?

Design
I am approaching this study from a constructivist perspective because I seek to build an emic understanding of how Kazakhstanis perceive the effectiveness of the new laws to combat corruption. My study will be a basic qualitative study. According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016), a basic qualitative researcher is “interested in (1) how people interpret their experiences, (2) how they construct their worlds, and (3) what meaning they attribute to their experiences” (p. 24). I am not seeking to develop a theory or explanation about anti-corruption laws; instead I want to explore how Kazakhstanis perceive the effectiveness of the new laws. For this reason, a basic qualitative study is best.
I will conduct 8-10 semi-structured interviews with university students who are majoring in public policy or political science/international relations. The criteria that I will use to choose participants will be that they have an awareness-knowledge of the new laws to combat corruption in Kazakhstan. I will import and analyze the transcription data using inductive grounded theory methods of coding, constant comparative analysis, and constructing themes to generate understandings that answer the study’s central research question (Charmaz, 2014).

Results, Findings, and Outcomes
The data collection has not yet been conducted. However, I hypothesize that few of the participants are aware of any differences in the effects of the new laws when compared with the previous anti-corruption laws. Additionally, it seems that the university students who study public policy or political science/international relations in Kazakhstan’s capital city will be neutral regarding the effectiveness of the new laws to combat corruption.

Conclusions
The Kazakhstani government hopes to reduce the amount of corruption in Kazakhstan while at the same time increase positively the perceptions about Kazakhstan from international organizations. My study will explore the perceptions of university students who study politics and public policy of how well the government seems to be accomplishing their goals.

Implications
The leadership in Kazakhstan’s government has spent many hours reworking the laws to combat corruption, created a new ministry division in the government, and worked with the courts to appropriately interpret the laws. All of this is to move the country forward in modernity, reduce the damaging effects of corruption in society, and to conform to international standards of anti-corruption legislation (The Agency). However, little is published regarding the effectiveness of the new laws to combat corruption in Kazakhstan. This study will provide insight to how the public may perceive such legislative effectiveness. Additionally, the leadership in the government will be able to know how and what to communicate to the citizens of Kazakhstan regarding the effectiveness of the new legislation.

Participant

• Jason E. Lewis, Biola University