Geographies of Power in Nazarbayev's Astana

An American geographer examines the recent move of Kazakhstan's capital from Almaty to Astana, focusing in particular on the links between the move and the development of official nationalism in the era of Nursultan Nazarbayev's post-communist governance. The capital move is discussed within a wider theoretical framework to highlight the unique role that the national capital plays in the nationalist imagination. The paper also highlights interesting features of the new capital's physical layout as well as changes in its ethnic composition due to migration patterns following the relocation. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: H10, H82, J61, O18. 2 figures, 2 tables, 49 references.