Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy invites the community to attend a research webinar titled “Do Hybrid Democratic Innovations Work in Autocracies? Investigating the Cases of Participatory Budgeting in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan” presented by Dr. Bakhytzhan Kurmanov.
The webinar will explore the role of participatory budgeting (PB) in authoritarian political systems and examine whether such mechanisms can move beyond reinforcing regime legitimacy to genuinely empowering citizens. Drawing on 36 in-depth interviews conducted in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the research evaluates participatory budgeting through the dimensions of inclusion, deliberation, and impact within the framework of hybrid democratic innovation. The study demonstrates that, under specific conditions, participatory reforms can contribute to modest forms of citizen empowerment and offers broader implications for comparative public administration and governance in the Global South.
Dr. Bakhytzhan Kurmanov is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy and Administration at University of Central Asia. His research focuses on open government, citizen empowerment, digital activism, and authoritarian politics in Central Asia and Eurasia. His work has been published in leading academic journals, including Post-Soviet Affairs, Journal of Eurasian Studies, and Central Asian Survey. He earned his PhD in Public Policy from Nazarbayev University, as well as an MPA from Australian National University and a BA from York University.
MS Teams Meeting ID: 413 845 133 261 19
Passcode: sq9pZ6nH
