Framing a welfare reform: the social benefits reform in Russia and Kazakhstan

Maltseva, Elena

doi:10.1080/00085006.2016.1202427

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The percentage of people living under the poverty line is decreasing, although modestly and unequally across regions (Mussurov, 2012). Despite having disposed quickly of the Soviet-era welfare system, Kazakhstan has maintained a welfare-state image, and has implemented bold social policies of its own (Maltseva, 2012). viii The 2012 message to the nation was titled"Socio-political Modernization: A Vector of Kazakhstan's Development" (Nazarbayev, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legitimation and the Party of Power in Kazakhstan

Sordi¹

2016

Politics and Legitimacy in Post-Soviet Eurasia

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This chapter surveys the legitimation strategies enacted by the political leadership of the contemporary post-Soviet republic. While showing that Kazakhstan bases its legitimation primarily on international recognition and the country's economic performance, it also focuses on an institutional dimension of legitimation. The leadership of Kazakhstan has chiefly been relying on Nur Otan, the party of power, for this. The party has contributed to legitimation by enforcing rules in the 1990s; by channeling popular support for the regime's economic performance in the 2000s; and finally by becoming more responsive to citizens' requests, thus shifting the regime toward input-related legitimation in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. IntroductionThe goal of the present volume is to shed light on the importance of legitimation for authoritarian-regime stability, focusing in particular on institutional legitimacy in post-Soviet Eurasia. i The case of Kazakhstan is extremely relevant for this purpose: Governed by a soft authoritarian regime, the country is endowed with significant natural resources and yet deploys advanced forms of institutional legitimation, especially through its party of power.Moreover, the analysis of this case shows that modes of legitimation can vary over time, with shifts largely depending on the historical, economic and political conditions of the moment.This chapter begins with a review of the main legitimating frames considered and in some cases adopted by Kazakhstan's leadership. A reliance on international recognition and strong economic performance, two of the most successful strategies, are examined in particular. In the same section, the need for an institutional dimension for legitimation is explored.Institutions, it is argued, are needed to buttress, channel and at times provide a substitute for 1 This chapter is going to be published in an edited volume published thanks to the efforts and the support of the KomPost research network. The reference is Del Sordi, A. (2016) "Legitimation and the Party of Power in Kazakhstan" in J. Ahrens, M. Brusis and M. Schulze Wessel (eds) Politics and Legitimacy in Post-Soviet Eurasia (London: Palgrave Macmillan).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legitimation and the Party of Power in Kazakhstan

Sordi¹

2016

Politics and Legitimacy in Post-Soviet Eurasia

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“…Following the February Revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government in Russia created a new institution responsible for the provision of social welfare, the Ministry of State Care (Ministerstvo Gosudarstvennogo Prizreniia) in Russia. This institution was later renamed the People’s Commissariat of State Care (Narkomat Gosudarstvennogo Prizreniia), and in 1918 the People’s Commissariat of Social Welfare ( Narodny Kommissariat Sotsial’nogo Obespecheniia ) on the grounds that its previous title did not reflect the new Soviet reality (Maltseva, 2012). The Ministry, and later the Commissariat, quickly became the only institution responsible for all forms of social welfare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social work in Azerbaijan: Achievements and challenges of the profession

Huseynli

2022

International Social Work

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The professional social work in Azerbaijan started in 2005 with the Master of Social Work degree and it rapidly evolved. The article presents the findings of the study that evaluated the situation of the social work profession since its establishment. The sample size was 39 respondents. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus groups. The study found rapid development, institutionalization, and acceptance of social work by public agencies as achievements, and the wrong image of social work, lack of jobs for social work graduates, uninformed selection of social work by students, and low salaries for social workers as challenges.

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“…In January 2005, when the law came into force, demonstrations erupted country-wide, developing into Russia's biggest protest wave of the decade. Again, national and international promoters of the neoliberal reform were ill prepared (Maltseva 2016). The IMF commented: "The fierce resistance to social benefit reforms had come as a surprise and was tempering the pace of further reforms in the social area" (IMF 2005, 25).…”

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confidence: 99%

Opposition to the Washington Consensus: The IMF and Social Policy Reforms in Post-Soviet Russia

Pleines

2022

International Impacts on Social Policy

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Financial collapse forced Russia into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1998. As part of its conditionality the IMF demanded severe cuts to the country’s social security system, which led to a public backlash against the agreement. However, six years later, after Russia had repaid all its debts to the IMF and started pursuing its economic policy independently, it re-introduced the monetisation of in-kind social benefits—one of the key reforms it had failed to implement as part of the earlier IMF agreement. The analysis of a similar reform attempt with and without IMF involvement shows that domestic policy-makers can genuinely subscribe to neoliberal reforms. It also helps to assess the IMF’s “mixed” approach to domestic opposition against its conditionality.

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Framing a welfare reform: the social benefits reform in Russia and Kazakhstan

Cited by 4 publications

References 22 publications

Legitimation and the Party of Power in Kazakhstan

Legitimation and the Party of Power in Kazakhstan

Social work in Azerbaijan: Achievements and challenges of the profession

Opposition to the Washington Consensus: The IMF and Social Policy Reforms in Post-Soviet Russia

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