Socio-cultural aspects of political participation in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

This article examines the socio-cultural aspects of political participation of citizens in modern
Kazakhstan. A brief overview of the social and cultural factors that influence the political participation of Kazakhstan.
The liberal and populist models of the relationship between the socio-economic development of the country and the
political participation of citizens proposed by American scientists Lipset and Lerner are considered. Examples are
given in order to determine the Kazakh model of the relationship of socio-economic development and participation
of citizens.
The authors consider the socio-cultural sphere as the basis of political activity. The emphasis is on the Third
modernization – transformation of public consciousness, which in turn determines the level of political culture of the
population and their relationship to external political processes. A brief analysis of the article of the First President of
the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Ah. Nazarbayev: “Look to the future: modernization of public consciousness”, “Seven
faces of the great steppe”. The state of social policy of Kazakhstan, its main directions, the level of income and the
place of Kazakhstan in the world ranking on indicators of well-being are considered. Questions about the need to
improve the level of democracy are raised, and the free participation of citizens in political processes and their culture
are considered as determining factors of democracy.