Exploring the Weakness of Opposition Parties in Kazakhstan’s Dominant Party System

Abstract

The thesis explores and answers one primary question: why have opposition parties in Kazakhstan, in particular the irreconcilable opposition, failed to make any kind of impact at all on the political system, understood in terms of popular support and power? One may strongly argue, perhaps overwhelmingly, that it is the authoritarian regime itself which is the main reason that keeps all opposition parties politically marginalized, even the moderate opposition. This is the largely implicit position taken in the relatively modest literature on the subject of opposition in authoritarian systems. However, this thesis argues that this is a far too simplistic explanation and that is in fact a combination of factors which cause opposition parties to be weak actors, but in particular their fuzzy party goals and ineffective strategies, as well as their inability to unite and stay united and to attract wider public support.