Difference between revisions of "Agashka (Kazakhstan)"

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In its present form, however, ''agashka'' is also the product of the post-Soviet expansion of market relations, which brought changes to the function and nature of informal networks developed under the socialist economy. Following the introduction of market principles in the 1990s, those with financial resources increasingly prefer to invest money in expanding their practical networks beyond the kinship divisions<ref>Rigi, Jakob. 2004. ‘Corruption in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan’, in Italo Pardo (ed.), Between Morality and the Law: Corruption, Anthropology and Comparative Society. Aldershot: Ashgate:101-117.</ref>. One of the most widespread perceptions with respect to ''agashki'' is that their children have an advantage over the others in getting a national scholarship to study overseas, or seeking a job in the public sector or national companies. ''Agashka's'' network of favours, however, is not limited to family and kinship ties. Here, the simple definition by Kazakhstani political analyst Dossym Satpayev is relevant: ‘''Agashka'' is a person whose connections bring money, and that money brings new connections.’ Thus, the major criterion for ''agashka'' in post-Soviet Kazakhstan is affiliation to certain financial sources, or a group of common material interests in which a variety of ethnicities, clans, and regions can be represented<ref>Satpaev, D. A. 1999. Lobbizm: tainye rychagi vlasti. Almaty: Qazaqstan damu instituty.</ref><ref>Umbetalieva, Tolganai and Dosym Satpayev, Dosym. 2012. ‘Political Elites in Kazakhstan’, in Andreas Heinrich and Heiko Pleines (eds), Challenges of the Caspian Resource Boom: Domestic Elites and Policy-Making. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan: 73-88</ref><ref>Schatz, Edward.2012. “Kinship and the State in Kazakhstan’s Political Economy,” in A. Heinrich and H. Pleines (eds), Challenges of the Caspian Resource Boom: Domestic Elites and Policy- Making. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan: 89-101.</ref>.

In its present form, however, ''agashka'' is also the product of the post-Soviet expansion of market relations, which brought changes to the function and nature of informal networks developed under the socialist economy. Following the introduction of market principles in the 1990s, those with financial resources increasingly prefer to invest money in expanding their practical networks beyond the kinship divisions<ref>Rigi, Jakob. 2004. ‘Corruption in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan’, in Italo Pardo (ed.), Between Morality and the Law: Corruption, Anthropology and Comparative Society. Aldershot: Ashgate:101-117.</ref>. One of the most widespread perceptions with respect to ''agashki'' is that their children have an advantage over the others in getting a national scholarship to study overseas, or seeking a job in the public sector or national companies. ''Agashka's'' network of favours, however, is not limited to family and kinship ties. Here, the simple definition by Kazakhstani political analyst Dossym Satpayev is relevant: ‘''Agashka'' is a person whose connections bring money, and that money brings new connections.’ Thus, the major criterion for ''agashka'' in post-Soviet Kazakhstan is affiliation to certain financial sources, or a group of common material interests in which a variety of ethnicities, clans, and regions can be represented<ref>Satpaev, D. A. 1999. Lobbizm: tainye rychagi vlasti. Almaty: Qazaqstan damu instituty.</ref><ref>Umbetalieva, Tolganai and Dosym Satpayev, Dosym. 2012. ‘Political Elites in Kazakhstan’, in Andreas Heinrich and Heiko Pleines (eds), Challenges of the Caspian Resource Boom: Domestic Elites and Policy-Making. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan: 73-88</ref><ref>Schatz, Edward.2012. “Kinship and the State in Kazakhstan’s Political Economy,” in A. Heinrich and H. Pleines (eds), Challenges of the Caspian Resource Boom: Domestic Elites and Policy- Making. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan: 89-101.</ref>.

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