Non-Conflict in Kazakhstan: Securitization and Hegemonic Formation in Nation-Building Discourse

Dr. Filipp Semyonov

doi:10.5771/9783748970293

Summary

In conflict research, little is known about cases in which conflict is expected yet fails to materialize. This study tackles that gap by examining why a highly anticipated interethnic conflict in post-Soviet Kazakhstan did not occur and provides insights into how the absence of conflict is discursively conditioned. Introducing the concept of non-conflict, it offers a discourse-analytical approach that maps the political discourses shaping nation-building. The study finds that the hegemonic discourse of interethnic harmony established political boundaries that rendered conflict unintelligible. This highlights the shift in focus from the causes of conflict to the discursive conditions of conflict avoidance.

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2026
Copyright Year: 2026
ISBN-Print: 978-3-7560-4017-9
ISBN-Online: 978-3-7489-7029-3
Publisher: Nomos, Baden-Baden
Series: Politiken der Sicherheit | Politics of Security
Volume: 15
Language: English
Pages: 375
Product Type: Monograph

1. Preface and Acknowledgments No access
1. Non-Conflict Research: Identifying Research Gaps No access
2. Non-Conflict Research: Formulating the Paradox No access
3. Uncovering the Non-Conflict Paradox: Theoretical and Methodological Foundations No access
4. Research Questions and Key Objectives of the Analysis No access
5. Grounding Context: Nation-Building in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan No access
6. Overview of the Book No access
1. 1. 1. 1.1.1. Non-Conflict Research: Comparative Approaches and the ‘Violence Strawman’ No access
    2. 1.1.2. Non-Conflict Research: Institutional Strategies and Conflict Management No access
    3. 1.1.3. Non-Conflict and the Category of Frozen Conflict No access
    4. 1.1.4. Non-Conflict as Provisional Stability: Constructivist Overtones No access
    5. 1.1.5. Non-Conflict in Kazakhstan No access
  2. 1. 1.2.1. Non-Conflict as ‘Negative Fact’ or ‘Non-Event’ No access
    2. 1.2.2. Non-Conflict in Conflict Theory and Sociology No access
  3. 1. 1.3.1. Systems Theory: Three Central Elements No access
    2. 1.3.2. Social Systems: Autopoiesis and the Construction of Reality No access
    3. 1.3.3. Systems Theory and Non-Conflict No access
2. 1. 1. 2.1.1. Foundations of Poststructuralism No access
    2. 2.1.2. Key Characteristics of Poststructuralist Discourse Theory (PDT) No access
    3. 2.1.3. Core Concepts, Principles and Logics of the PDT No access
  2. 2.2. PDT and Peace and Conflict Studies No access
  3. 1. 2.3.1. Securitization as Boundary-Setting Function and Hegemonic Formation No access
    2. 2.3.2. The Logic of Securitization No access
  4. 1. 2.4.1. Second-Order Observation No access
    2. 2.4.2. Outlining Analytical Strategy No access
    3. 2.4.3. Empirical Data Corpus No access
    4. 2.4.4. Collection of Empirical Data No access
1. 1. 3.1. Presidential Discourse: Key Characteristics No access
  2. 1. 3.2.1. Signifiers of Deficiency and the Antagonistic Outside No access
    2. 3.2.2. Protagonist Discourse Coalition No access
  3. 1. 3.3.1. Signifiers of Deficiency and the Antagonistic Outside No access
    2. 3.3.2. Protagonist Discourse Coalition No access
  4. 1. 3.4.1. Signifiers of Deficiency and the Antagonistic Outside No access
    2. 3.4.2. Protagonist Discourse Coalition No access
2. 1. 1. 4.1.1. Short History of ‘Lad’ No access
    2. 4.1.2. Signifiers of Deficiency and the Antagonistic Outside No access
    3. 4.1.3. Protagonist Discourse Coalition No access
  2. 1. 4.2.1. Characteristics of Kazakh National-Patriotic Public Movements No access
    2. 4.2.2. Signifiers of Deficiency and the Antagonistic Outside No access
    3. 4.2.3. Protagonist Discourse Coalition No access
3. 1. 5.1. Mainstream Mass Media and Kazakhstan’s Media Landscape No access
  2. 5.2. Subject Position of Mass Media in Kazakhstan No access
  3. 1. 5.3.1. The Problem of Nationalism and Chauvinism No access
    2. 5.3.2. Language Issue No access
    3. 5.3.3. The Issues of Citizenship and Outmigration No access
    4. 5.3.4. Rewriting History No access
    5. 5.3.5. Inter-Ethnic Conflict as a Signifier of the Antagonistic Outside No access
  4. 1. 5.4.1. Towards Authoritarian Rule No access
    2. 5.4.2. Justifying the Ethnocratic Model of the State No access
    3. 5.4.3. Frontier between the Political and the Everyday No access
    4. 5.4.4. De-antagonizing Kazakh-Russian Relations No access
    5. 5.4.5. Unconventional Institutions No access
    6. 5.4.6. Towards Authoritarian Peace No access
    7. 5.4.7. Language Policy and Patriotism No access
    8. 5.4.8. Depoliticizing Dissent and Securing Hegemony No access
1. 1. 6.1. Restating Research Problem and Research Questions No access
  2. 1. 6.2.1. Hegemonic Discourse No access
    2. 6.2.2. Counter-Hegemonic Discourses No access
    3. 6.2.3. Public Debates No access
  3. 6.3. Reflecting Theoretical Framework and Analytical Strategy No access
  4. 6.4. Shortcomings and Limitations No access
  5. 1. 6.5.1. Conceptualizing Non-Conflict No access
    2. 6.5.2. Hegemony and the Logic of Securitization No access
2. Conclusion No access Pages 339 - 344
Bibliography No access Pages 345 - 354
1. 1. Archival materials No access
  2. Official documents No access
2. Chapter 4 – Counter-Hegemonic Discourses No access
3. Chapter 5 – Public Discourse: Mainstream Mass Media No access
Appendix No access Pages 369 - 374