Politics and Oil in Kazakhstan

Dr Wojciech Ostrowski holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of St Andrews, UK. His areas of specialization include the politics of oil, authoritarian regimes and state-business relationships in Central Asia.

• 1. Introduction  2. The oil industry and techniques of regime maintenance  3. The Kazakh oil industry in transition: de-formalising formal relations  4. Strengthening the informal ties: the Kazakhization of the oil industry  5. Controlling the oil-rich regions: local population  6. Controlling the oil-rich regions: local interests groups  7. The Kazakh oil industry after transition: quasi-formal relationships and consolidation  8. Summary and conclusions

"Ostrowski’s command of the topic is impressive. His study includes many interesting facts that will be valuable for researchers. He conducted in-depth interviews with high-ranking representatives of numerous bodies...Ostrowski’s study provides a good example of how informal political relations and behaviour are an important mechanism in maintaining the Kazakh regime. It is a good empirical contribution to the existing literature on resource-rich post-Soviet countries and their political economy." - Julia Kusznir, Europe-Asia Studies, 62:8, 2010"[The study] markedly improves our understanding of the political economy of a petrol-rich state... [it] will become a touchstone for anyone working in this area... [and] represents an important contribution to our understanding of Kazakhstan in the 1990s and 2000s." - Edward Schatz, University of Toronto; Central Asian Survey, Vol. 30, No. 1, March 2011