Kazakhstan’s leaders have long harbored ambitious visions for their country’s future. The country’s first President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, launched several far-reaching goals for the country’s development, most notably in 2012 the “Kazakhstan 2050” strategy, which aimed for Kazakhstan to take a place among the world’s 30 most developed states by mid-century.
In 2019, the long-awaited transition of presidential power from Nursultan Nazarbayev to his anointed successor Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev took place. However, Nazarbayev continues to wield power. Among his many positions is the chair-for-life of the National Security Council, a constitutional body that has effective veto power over key policy decisions.
By creating a land commission, the Kazakh authorities managed to bring down the protest rallies in 2016, when, under pressure from citizens, the government was forced to abandon the sale and lease of land to foreigners. The goal of the national patriots was achieved, but the key issue for the citizens remained unresolved – the mechanism and procedures for the return of land to the people of Kazakhstan, sold by the authorities as a result of massive corruption deals and now belonging to oligarchs – “land barons”, has not been created by law.
This publication is based on the “Study on Fraud in Land Administration Systems” presented at the Twelfth Session of the Working Party on Land Administration in 2021. It is an update to the 2011 “Study on the Challenges of Fraud to Land Administration Institutions" (ECE/HBP/165). It analyses the current state of play and best practices in addressing fraud in land administration systems in the ECE region.
Ulster University and the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights has released the first sector wide study on corporate integrity in Uzbekistan.
The report and associated policy brief focus on the cotton cluster system, a landmark privatisation initiative designed to improve agro-industrial productivity, and address the structural drivers of systematic forced labour in Uzbekistan. State-organised forced labour regimes in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector have attracted significant domestic and international criticism over the past decade.
ABSTRACTED FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The 2017 to 2018 period in Uzbekistan gave rise to a feeling of relief among the population. With the death of the first president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, in September 2016 and the election of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as new president in December 2016, the so-called post-Soviet transition period had come to an end. The new president managed to create a new image as the leader of the country and as a reformer.
ABSTRACTED FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In the period from 2017 to 2019, Tajikistan’s authoritarian retrenchment continued. Political institutions were monopolized by the elite after the destruction of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) in 2015, at the time the only viable political opposition party. The IRPT’s chairman went into exile, its remaining leaders were rounded up, and lawyers who acted on their behalf were also imprisoned for lengthy prison terms.
This paper tracks the process through which FIAS, the investment climate advisory service of the World Bank Group advised the government of Latvia from 1998 to 2004 on ways to improve the business environment, achieve higher rates of economic growth, and thereby alleviate poverty. This case study shows that it is reasonable to describe how assistance by FIAS led to an improved business environment.
The objectives of the study are to: a) increase understanding of the effects and effectiveness of the implementation of the local government reform launched in 2006; and b) assess the impact of a World Bank-supported intervention that aimed to enhance effectiveness of the reforms by increasing local capacity and local participation. In line with these objectives, the study assessed the perceived effects and effectiveness of the implementation of the local government reform in selected provinces.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the World Bank Group's (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development [IBRD], International Development Association [IDA], and International Finance Corporation [IFC]) effectiveness in promoting growth in agricultural productivity in Azerbaijan, and to derive lessons that may be relevant for the World Bank Group's future engagement in Azerbaijani agriculture.
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