Secular governance in Central Asia: the case of Kazakhstan

Thursday 23 November 2017 / 15:30 - 16:45 / Coffee and registration from 15,00

Stockholm Medelhavsmuseet. Fredsgatan 2, 103 21 Stockholm. Click here for a map

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Find a summary and video of this event here.

Since independence, Kazakhstan has remained faithful to secular statehood. In recent years, Kazakhstan’s leaders have strengthened the secular character of the state’s laws and education system. But what does secularism mean in a Central Asian context? How does the state balance the goal of religious freedom with the need to shield the state from religious influence?

Within the framework of ISDP’s ongoing research on secular governance in Central Asia and the Caucasus, ISDP invites you to a panel discussion focusing on the case of Kazakhstan, asking what, if any, are the implications of this model of governance for the Muslim world at large?

Participating in the panel:

  • Svante E. Cornell, Director of ISDP
  • Åke Peterson, former Swedish Ambassador to Central Asia
  • Ulan Bigozhin, Post-doctoral Scholar, School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS), Nazarbayev University