Kazakhstan is one of the best-known success stories of Central Asia, perhaps even of the entire Eurasian space. It boasts a fast growing economy—at least until the 2014 crisis—a strategic location between Russia, China, and the rest of Central Asia, and a regime with far-reaching branding strategies. But the country also faces weak institutionalization, patronage, authoritarianism, and regional gaps in socioeconomic standards that challenge the stability and prosperity narrative advanced b...

This social and cultural analysis provides a new understanding of Kazakhstan’s younger generations that emerged during the rule of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been presiding over Kazakhstan for the thirty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Half of Kazakhstan’s population was born after he took power and have no direct memory of the Soviet regime. Since the early 2000s, they have lived in a world of political stability and relative material affluence, and have developed a stron...

It is often argued that globalization fosters 'hybridity', as some cultural imports are accepted, while others are 'localized', and others still are rejected outright. Yet we know relatively little about the social processes and mechanisms involved in cultural globalization. This book offers an empirically rich and theoretically compelling analysis of how cultural globalization occurs, including the structural conditions, personal meanings and social interactions associated with various ou...

Geschichten machen die Welt zu einem besseren OrtPackend, anrührend, voller Überraschungen – dieses einzigartige literarische Projekt versammelt viele der erfolgreichsten Autorinnen und Autoren aller Genres der Gegenwart und verknüpft beeindruckende Erzählungen raffiniert durch eine brillante Rahmenhandlung.New York im April 2020. Während des ersten Lockdowns treffen sich die Bewohner eines Mietshauses abends auf dem Dach und erzählen einander Geschichten. ...