CAREC Institute Deputy Director Kuat Akizhanov Participates in the 83rd Annual Midwest Political Science Association Conference

Dr. Kuat Akizhanov, Deputy Director Two of the CAREC Institute, took part in the 83rd Annual Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Conference, which was held in a hybrid format in Chicago. As one of the largest and most prestigious gatherings in the field of political science, the conference brought together more than 4,000 scholars, researchers, and policymakers from over 65 countries, covering a wide range of disciplines and research interests.

During the conference, Dr. Akizhanov played an active role in multiple aspects. He presented two research papers, titled “Stuck in Development and Economics Orthodoxy: Will (Epistemic) Shift Ever Happen for the Kazakh Technocrats?” and “The Political Economy of Income and Wealth Inequality in Kazakhstan,” which focused on critical issues related to Kazakhstan’s economic development and inequality. In addition, he chaired two key sessions: the roundtable “Heterodoxy vs. Orthodoxy in Eurasia: Rethinking Development Studies and Policy After Thirty Years of Post-Socialist Transition” and the session “Power, Prosperity, and Political Change: Infrastructure, Institutions, and Governance in the 21st Century”, for which he also served as a discussant.

The MPSA Annual Conference is widely recognized as a premier platform for academic exchange, offering extensive opportunities for networking and interdisciplinary collaboration. Dr. Akizhanov’s active participation in this global forum underscores the CAREC Institute’s growing recognition as a regional think tank for high-quality, policy-relevant research on Central Asia and the broader Eurasian region, reflecting the Institute’s commitment to advancing rigorous scholarship and promoting informed policy dialogue on key socio-economic challenges.