Forecast of the pre-school education needs in Astana until 2030 Abstract This thesis aims to analyze future preschool education needs in Astana city. The low coverage of children by preschool education (a small number of preschool education institutions) initially lays the foundation of inequality elements and contradicts with the basic principles of the State education policy aimed at accessibility of education for the citizens of the country. As a consequence of insufficient governmental financing, the cost of children maintenance increased and it became the reason of unavailability of kindergarten service for separate groups of people. Consequently, the future preschool needs in Astana until 2030 is of particular interest. The thesis addresses issue of future population development dynamics in new capital city. This aim achieved with the help of forecasting techniques applied for Astana population until 2030. The thesis aimed to present the picture of how the trends (mortality, fertility and migration) are developing and how they will affect on the preschool needs in the future. Keywords: Astana, Kazakhstan, preschool needs, probability of dying, contributions to changes in life expectancy at birth, age specific fertility rate, gross reproduction rate, net reproduction rate, forecasting, cohort-component...

Thesis (M. A.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Jonathan A. Grant, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary Program in Russian and East European Studies. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 19, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 71 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

This research study examines how the image of Kazakhstan was covered by the New York Times during 11 years and analyzed the most common perception of the Central Asian country, using framing as a theoretical framework. Textual-analysis approach was used as a method, exploration produced seven frames. The textual analysis approach demonstrated that negative coverage prevailed in the coverage of Kazakhstan, “in spite of friendly relationships with the USA”. Kazakhstan was framed as “authoritarian” “petro-state”, which got independence, but still followed “soviet-style” politics and was largely influenced by its “hegemon Russia”. The country, which “has a complex about being recognized in the world” (Stern, 2008). Future research needed to promote the image of the country worldwide.

Kazakh Capitals and the Construction of Kazakh National Identity in the post-Soviet Period (1991-2011) Nariman Shelekpayev This thesis explores the urban landscapes of the two major cities in post-Soviet Kazakhstan: Astana and Almaty. Analysis of their urban architecture, organization of public spaces and toponymy provides information about the identity and the identification of the country in the twenty-first century. The main sources for this research are the texts produced by geographers, graphic representations (mainly photographs and postcards) and several textbooks on the "History of Kazakhstan". The primary research questions include how historical and political change (mainly the transition from Soviet to national in 1990s) influenced the urban landscape, the role of the urban landscape in construction of national (self-) identification, and what symbolizes "Kazakhness". From the temporal point of view, the study attempts a diachronic comparison of Soviet and post-Soviet Kazakhstan. From the spatial point of view, the analysis of the urban landscape in two cities located in different parts of the country with different history and geography helps to see different, heterogeneous territories which are part of one country. Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan, a city with the sharpest contrasts between...

Die folgende Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit dem Thema Stadtmigration in Astana (Kasachstan) und befasst sich mit der Forschungsfrage wie das Alltagsleben von Zugezogenen in der neuen Hauptstadt von Kasachstan aussieht. Mein Ziel war es, die verschiedenen Facetten des Alltagslebens und die daraus folgenden Herausforderungen zu untersuchen. Astana, seit 1997 die neue Hauptstadt von Kasachstan, wird oft das "Dubai Zentralasiens" genannt. Die kasachische Regierung wirbt für Astana als einen Grundpfeiler der neuen kasachischen nationalen Identität und als ein Symbol für das moderne, westliche, reiche neue Kasachstan. Die kasachischen Eliten feiern Astana als einen Triumph von Präsident Nazarbayev. Meine Forschung beruht darauf, dass ich vielfältige Selbsterzählungen von Kasachen sammelte, die nach Astana kamen um es zu "erobern". Damit leistet die Dissertation einen Beitrag zur urbanen Ethnographie in Zentralasien. Die Arbeit besteht aus fünf Hauptkapiteln. Kapitel eins umfasst die Einleitung und legt die theoretische und methodologische Grundlage der Arbeit fest. Der theoretische Ansatz von Setha Low „co-production of space“ (the social production and social construction of space) leitet die Forschungsfrage und der Begriff von Liminality (Turner 1967, Thomassen, 2014) wird als zentrales Grundkonzept die Analyse der Arbeit begleiten. Kapitel zwei beschreibt die Zugezogenen und definiert diese als priezzhie, die sich im Status von „in-between“ befinden. Kapitel drei beschreibt die Wohnsituation junger Zugezogener in Astana und Kapitel vier schildert das Single Leben von jungen Frauen. In den letzten Kapiteln geht es darum, welche Möglichkeiten und Chancen sich den Zugezogenen bieten, ihre Träume und Vorstellungen umzusetzen. Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass die Erfahrungen, welche Zugezogene in Astana machen, sehr gut als Beispiele für liminal personae und liminales Wohnen verstanden werden können. / The dissertation aims to answer the research question of what it means for various groups of individuals to live in Astana on a daily basis. As the new capital, Astana attracted a large number of internal migrants from various parts of Kazakhstan, who searched for better prospects and lives. Officially, the new capital is promoted by Kazakhstan’s government as “city of the future” and regards it as President Nazarbayev’s (1991-2019) most successful project. The dissertation offers an ethnographic contribution to urban experiences of migrants in Central Asia. The dissertation is divided into five main chapters. Chapter one offers an introduction to the theme and outlines major theoretical framework and the methodology on which the research is based. I apply the theory of the co-production of space (the social production and social construction of space) outlined by Setha Low to integrate the ‘spatial’ aspect as an integral part of my research. In addition, I employ the concept of liminality (Turner, 1967, Thomassen, 2014) as the central idea to analyze the stories of my informants. Within this framework, I argue that Astana’s unique urban space supports the emergence of liminal personae, liminal housing arrangements, lifestyles and career aspirations which are mutually connected and influence each other. Accordingly, the second chapter describes the newcomers who are defined as ‘priezzhie’ and occupy an in-between status. The third chapter looks at housing and focuses on renting in shared flats. The fourth chapter is about the dating experiences of young women. The last chapter is about achieving success and career aspirations of newcomers. In conclusion, I argue that liminality explains the temporary fixation of the ambiguous, conflicting, and unstable order which has emerged for many newcomers in Astana.

Syrian Civil War has been occupying the international agenda since the year 2011. Despite the fact that most of the attention is paid to the conflict itself, peace processes are part of the international competition on Syrian arena, as well. For this reason, the thesis attempts to examine two major peace tracks: Astana and Geneva processes. The former is established among Russia-Turkey-Iran trio in late 2016 and functions as a regional mediation ground while the latter is led by the top world organization, the UN, as a ground for international actors with substantial interest in the Near East. Astana's relatively better performance in reaching certain outcomes is analyzed with hypotheses derived from three core International Relations theories: Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism. In this regard, those assumptions analyze actors that are involved in the conflict within the framework of their relevant peace track. According to the conducted analyses, findings indicate that realist hypothesis is better at explaining Astana's "fruitfulness" than the other assumptions- especially field-level agreements but not the broader cooperation among the Astana trio. Hence, Geneva track with higher level of international participation carries greater importance for an ultimate resolution to the conflict.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d'étudier le processus de construction matérielle et symbolique des villes capitales nouvellement établies et relocalisées au Brésil, au Canada et au Kazakhstan du milieu du XIXe siècle jusqu'à la fin du XXe siècle. La thèse adopte une approche comparative fondée sur des perspectives issues de l'histoire culturelle et politique, de l'histoire architecturale et de l'urbanisme. L’enquête porte sur l’exploration de ce que l’on soutient être trois phases sine qua non de la construction des villes capitales en question : a) les activités législatives et exécutives visant à choisir la localisation de leurs (nouveaux) sites ; (b) la conception et la construction des édifices gouvernementaux ou des districts représentant l'État dans ces nouveaux sites du gouvernement ; et c) les cérémonies d’inauguration des nouvelles villes capitales en tant que grands événements parrainés par l’État et visant à promouvoir les nouveaux lieux de pouvoir politique. L’exploration de ces trois moments historiques permet non seulement de saisir efficacement la différence entre les villes capitales et d’autres types de villes, mais fournit également un angle avantageux pour explorer les liens entre l’État et l’urbanité qui interagissent et co-construisent les espaces des villes capitales contemporaines. A travers l’analyse des trois phases mentionnées ci-dessus, nous proposons de repenser les projets intellectuels et politiques des élites et des individus engagés dans l'élaboration d’Astana, de Brasília et d’Ottawa, afin de comprendre comment leurs aspirations et leurs projets ont été transposés dans la matérialité des villes qu’ils ont inventées. Les études antérieures ont examiné les villes capitales comme des retombées du développement des États-nations ou des empires en les considérant de manière isolée, ou elles ont abordé la signification symbolique des villes capitales à travers une étude de leurs formes géographiques, architecturales ou urbaines. L'ambition de cette thèse est de montrer que l'émergence d'au moins trois villes capitales contemporaines découle de relations complexes et croisées entre les anciens empires et les États-nations actuels, ce dont témoigne l'exclusion de certaines groupes sociaux qui ne cadraient pas avec les représentations officielles de l'identité nationale que les élites politiques ont cherché à promouvoir dans l'espace de ces villes capitales. / This doctoral thesis aims to study the construction, both physically and symbolically, of newly established and relocated capital cities in Brazil, Canada, and Kazakhstan from the mid-nineteenth century up until the late twentieth century. The research adopts a comparative approach that is informed by perspectives from cultural and political history, the history of architecture, and urban planning. The investigation is grounded in what this thesis claims to be the three sine qua non phases of construction in contemporary capital cities: (a) legislative and executive activities geared toward choosing new sites of government; (b) the adoption of architectural and planning designs for governmental buildings or districts which seek to represent the State in these new sites of government; and (c) inauguration ceremonies for the newly-appointed capital cities in the form of large state-sponsored events, designed to promote the new loci of political power. The exploration of these three historical aspects not only enables one to efficiently grasp the difference between capital cities and other types of cities but also provides an advantageous angle from which to explore the link between statehood and cityhood, as these interact and co-construct each other within the space of contemporary capital cities. Through an analysis of the three phases in three capital cities I propose to rethink the intellectual and political projects of elites and individuals who were involved in the process of each capital’s elaboration, in order to understand how their aspirations and political projects were translated into the material reality of the cities that would be defined as ‘capitals.’ Previous studies essentially regarded capital cities as a by-product of the development of nation-states or empires, taken as separate and unrelated cases, or explored the symbolic meaning of capital cities through a study of their geographical, architectural, and planning arrangements. This thesis strives to demonstrate that the emergence of at least three contemporary capital cities was due to complex and entangled relationships between former empires and current nation-states, for these were also based on the ongoing exclusion of those groups of people who did not fit easily within the official representations of national identity which the ruling elites were attempting to forge.