ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Polit. Sci.
Sec. Comparative Governance
Political Integration of Ethnic Minorities in Post-Soviet Central Asia
Provisionally accepted
- 1Non-profit Joint-stock Company “Toraigyrov University”, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
- 2Astana IT University, Astana, Kazakhstan
- 3L N Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan
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The study aimed to analyze the political integration of ethnic minorities in the post-Soviet states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan), taking into account modern national policies and socio-political processes. The work used a mixed design. The quantitative stage included a survey of 320 respondents, which made it possible to assess indicators of trust and political effectiveness. The qualitative stage consisted of 40 semi-structured interviews aimed at revealing the mechanisms of integration of statistical patterns. The study indicated that electoral participation is the dominant form of political activity; however, non-electoral practices (membership in parties, public initiatives) are much less common. In all countries, national elections attract more respondents than local ones, but the gap is smallest in Kazakhstan (7%), where trust in institutions is higher. In Kyrgyzstan, there is stronger civic engagement outside elections, which correlates with the presence of horizontal networks. In Uzbekistan, integration rates are generally lower due to institutional closure and risks of self-censorship. Analysis of identity profiles revealed a monotonic gradient of trust: integrated (M≈53) > assimilated (M≈49) > separated (M≈41) > marginalized (M≈36). The combination of ethnic and national identities works as a "bridge of trust" to institutions.
Keywords: Central Asia, Electoral participation, Ethnic Minorities, Political Integration, Trust in institutions
Received: 21 Sep 2025; Accepted: 12 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kaliyev, Dossymkhan, Tursynbek, Polomarchuk and Zhanarstanova. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yenglik Dossymkhan
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