Impact of constitutional reforms on the political participation of citizens in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Political participation is an important mechanism of aggregation and articulation of socio-economic
interests in politics, the purpose of which is the influence of citizens on political decision-making through
various channels of political interaction, activities of political parties, public organizations, and movements.
Modern political processes in many CIS countries indicate a new stage of post-Soviet politics. The current war in
Ukraine, mass protests after the announcement of the results of presidential elections in Belarus in the summer
of 2020, protests against the preliminary results of parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan in autumn 2020, mass
protests in support of the opposition in Russia in the spring of 2021 show that all post-Soviet countries to a
greater or lesser degree have prerequisites for political destabilization, political change, and turmoil. Kazakhstan,
unfortunately, has also undergone political destabilization and radicalization, as evidenced by the events of
January 2022. The article offered for consideration examines the impact of constitutional reforms aimed at
liberalizing the political system of Kazakhstan on increasing political participation of citizens and overcoming
the crisis of political participation of citizens.