10) Political participation in Kazakhstan.

The general level of participation in a society is the extent to which the people as a whole are active in politics: the number of active people multiplied by the amount of their action, to put it arithmetically. But the question of what it is to take part in politics is massively complex and ultimately ambiguous. It raises the question of what constitutes politics. We would, for example, assume that activity within a political party or an organization which regarded itself as a pressure group should count as political participation. But what about activity in other sorts of organization, such as sports associations and traditional women's organizations? Although not overtly political, these organizations set the context of politics, give their active members administrative experience and are capable of overt political action if their interests or principles are threatened. There is an opposite problem about political losers: if people act, but ineffectively, perhaps because they are part of a permanent minority in a political system, can we say they have participated in the making of decisions? One implication of this doubt is that possessing power is a necessary condition or logical equivalent of true political participation. If one is merely consulted by a powerful person who wants one's views for information, or if one is mobilized or re-educated within the control of another, one has not participated in politics in any significant sense.

11)Sociological characteristics of political participation.

12)Forms of participation in Kazakhstan.

13)Voting behaviour. Explanatory power of American theories of voting behaviour in the study of Kazakhstan politics.

Voting behavior is a form of political behavior. Understanding voters' behavior can explain how and why decisions were made either by public decision-makers, which has been a central concern for political scientists,^[1] or by the electorate. To interpret voting behavior both political science and psychology expertise where necessary and therefore the field of political psychology emerged. Political psychology researchers study ways in which affective influence may help voters make more informed voting choices, with some proposing that affect may explain how the electorate makes informed political choices in spite of low overall levels of political attentiveness and sophistication.

Voting behavior types

The existing literature does not provide an explicit classification of voting behavior types. However, research following the Cypriot referendum of 2004, identified four distinct voting behaviors depending on the election type. Citizens use different decision criteria if they are called to exercise their right to vote in i) presidential, ii) legislative, iii) local elections or in a iv) referendum. Listing five positive or negative characteristics for the Prime Minister was challenging; especially for those with little or no interest in politics. The ones asked to list five positive characteristics were primed negatively towards the politicians because it was too hard to name five good traits. On the contrary, following the same logic, those who were to list five negative, came to like the politician better than before. This conclusion was reflected in the final survey stage when participants evaluated their attitude toward the Prime Minister. 13)Why in your opinion the political party “Ak Zhol” devoted in two different parties? Who were previous leaders of this party & where are they now?

14) Why in your opinion the political party “Ak Zhol” devoted in two different parties? Who were previous leaders of this party & where are they now?

15) Direct and representative democracy.

In a direct democracy every single member of the group has an equal say in every single decision. This is not workable on a day to day basis for large groups. In a representative democracy, people elect representatives, who vote on the issues. Representative democracy is the basis of constitutional democracy. Representatives are chosen by the people to act in their best interest, not necessarily to vote the way the people want them to in every circumstance. Direct democracy is very difficult to maintain when a population becomes too large.  Some societies operate with a combination of both types of democracy. For example, in some countries, such as France, Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland, some issues, for example changes to the constitution, can be decided by a popular vote on that specific issue. In some of the small Swiss cantons (states) such as Glarus, all citizens are entitled to attend an annual meeting which votes retrospectively on the laws passed during the preceding year by their representatives.

16) Elections in Kazakhstan are they democratic o non democratic? Explain why?

Elections in Kazakhstan are held on a national level to elect a President and the the Parliament, which is divided into two bodies, the Majilis (Assembly) and the Senate. Local elections for maslikhats (local representative bodies) are held every five years. Elections are administered by the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan.Kazakhstan is a one party dominant state in the way that only supporters of the president can share power. Opposition political parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power due to corruption, resulting in voting irregularities as seen in the 2004 elections.

Presidential electionsKazakhstan's president is elected by the people and serves for at most two five-year terms. Term limits were removed for the incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev on 18 May 2007, when parliament also voted to reduce the term length from seven to five years.

Parliamentary elections The legislature, known as the Parliament ("Parlamenti"), has two chambers. The Assembly ("Mazhilis") has 77 seats, elected for a four year term, 67 in single seat constituencies and 10 by proportional representation The Senate has 47 members, 40 of whom are elected to six-year terms in double-seat constituencies by the local assemblies, half renewed every two years, and 7 presidential appointees. In addition, ex-presidents are ex-officio senators for life.