Social Capital and Performance of Public Councils in Kazakhstan

Makulbayeva G. Sharipova D.
August 2025 SAGE Publications Inc.

Journal of Eurasian Studies
2025 #16 Issue 2 222 - 235 pp.

This study applies Putnam’s social capital thesis to an examination of the impact of social capital (social trust, formal networks and norms) on public councils’ performance in Kazakhstan. As public councils aim to express citizens’ opinions on socially significant problems, this inquiry measures their performance by examining their impact on social issues in various policy domains. Drawing on data collected from four regions of Kazakhstan, we found that social trust and cooperation norms have a positive impact on public councils’ effectiveness, while formal networking has no influence. The limited significance of formal networking in the local context is explained by the state-led nature of civil society. This article contributes to the literature on social capital and government performance in authoritarian states.

civil society , networking , norms , performance , Social capital , trust

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PhD Candidate at Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

PhD Candidate at Graduate School of Public Policy
Graduate School of Public Policy

10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель

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