Runa Sedolfsen Loe

Does Oil Impede Democracy?: Evaluating the Political Transition in Kazakhstan Runa Sedolfsen Loe

Even if post-Soviet Kazakhstan has obtained animpressive economic growth and has democraticinstitutions formally present, democratization hasbeen rather unsuccessful, also when compared to quitea few other former communist states. To what degreemay the failure of democracy be ascribed toKazakhstan's economic reliance on oil revenues? Thisbook analyzes the Kazakh political transition sincethe time of independence in 1991 until 2007. Afeature that differentiates Kazakhstan from severalother former communist states is its significantpetroleum resources. Thus, it is interesting to seehow the growth in the extraction of these resourcessince 1991 may have influenced the country's economyand political developments. At the same time, Kazakhstan shares the problems of democratizationwith the other post-Soviet states located in CentralAsia and Caucasus. It is therefore necessary toconsider the region's cultural-historical legacieswhen attempting to explain the difficulties ofdemocratic progress in Kazakhstan. The analysisshould be useful to anyone interested in howresource-led economic growth influences the prospectsfor democracy in states without democratic traditions.