This video showcases some of the highlights questions and answers from our event promoting Corridors of Power in Kazakhstan called "30 Years of Kazakhstan: From the USSR to the Belt and Road Initiative". The event followed the release of our report, Corridors of Power.

‍On the occasion of Kazakhstan’s 30th anniversary of independence, you are cordially invited to 30 Years of Kazakhstan: From the USSR to the Belt and Road Initiative, launching AidData’s latest Policy Report on the Belt and Road Initiative, followed by a panel discussion by the experts in the field about China’s growing presence in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The panel discussion will then focus on the BRI in Central Asia and Kazakhstan, adding expert opinions to support the report from a regional standpoint. The event will take place in a hybrid format (online, with limited capacity for in-person participation) and is open to all parties interested in the subject.

Speakers:

Samantha Custer (online), Director of Policy Analysis, AidData, William & Mary, United States

Nargis Kassenova, Senior Fellow and director of the Program on Central Asia at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies (Harvard University) and Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations and Regional Studies of KIMEP University (Almaty, Kazakhstan). She is the former founder and director of the KIMEP Central Asian Studies Center (CASC) and the China and Central Asia Studies Center (CCASC).

Dr. Elizabeth Wishnick, Professor of Political Science at Montclair State University.

Julie Yu-Wen Chen is Professor of Chinese Studies at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki, and Hosting Professor at the Department of Asian Studies at Palacky University (Czech Republic).

Gaziza Shakhanova obtained her Ph.D. from Jan Masaryk Centre for International Studies at the University of Economics in Prague. She has worked for a number of Kazakh ministries and state-owned organizations and her research interests include the Russia-Central

Aigerim Toleukhanova is a freelance journalist and researcher with a focus on human rights, media freedom and Central Asia. Until recently, she worked as a digital editor with RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service. Before joining RFE/RL in 2019, Toleukhanova worked as a freelance video journalist for Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and contributed to stories related to Kazakhstan and China for The Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, BBC, The Independent, and other media outlets.