This article is based on an analysis of the results of a survey conducted among 106 experts in the field of family policy in Kazakhstan in March 2020. The study results provided an expert assessment of family policy effectiveness in Kazakhstan and civil society’s role in it. The results show that experts assess the effectiveness of the civil sector in implementing the national family policy above the state: the level of efficiency is two times higher, and the level of knowledge and competencies is three times higher. In this regard, the government should interact more intensively with non-governmental organizations.

This research investigates how existing political and legal instruments can affect democratic power structures and civil society and examines prospects for their development. The article seeks to analyze current views and approaches related to negative campaigning, its sociopolitical perception, and countermeasures by looking at them through the lens of post‐Soviet countries and states within the Anglo‐Saxon legal tradition. Hence, the study views negative campaigning as a practice undermining democracy. We provide reliable evidence that Western nations are more likely to take a liberal approach to negative campaigning and assign it the role of a political struggle element. In addition, we found multiple confirmations that legislators in Russia have been toughening measures against negative campaigning and general defamation‐related rules. Related Articles Caillier, James. 2010. “Citizen Trust, Political Corruption, and Voting Behavior: Connecting the Dots.” Politics & Policy 38(5): 1015–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2010.00267.x Craig, Stephen C., and Paulina S. Rippere. 2014. “Political Trust and Negative Campaigns: Two Tests of the Figure‐Ground Hypothesis.” Politics & Policy 42(5): 693–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12091 Jones, David A., Kathleen Ferraiolo, and Jennifer Byrne. 2011. “Selective Media Exposure and Partisan Differences about Sarah Palin's Candidacy.” Politics & Policy 39(2): 195–221. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.17471346.2011.00288.x