Nur-Sultan, first named Akmola and then Astana, is a planned capital, like Brasília in Brazil, New Delhi in India and Canberra in Australia. This kind of capital has been purposively build in a...Show moreNur-Sultan, first named Akmola and then Astana, is a planned capital, like Brasília in Brazil, New Delhi in India and Canberra in Australia. This kind of capital has been purposively build in a specific location, mostly due to a better climate or due to an overpopulated area. However, in the case of Astana, the capital was relocated for different and rather undemocratic reasons, as this study finds: to suit the changes of an authoritarian regime in a new independent country. This study offers an explanation for how Kazakhstan’s capital relocation in 1997 has been legitimised by the country’s former president Nursultan Nazarbayev. This is done through a qualitative content analysis of Nazarbayev’s public speeches from 1991 to 2017 as research material, wherein he discusses the capital relocation and its significance. It is found that the new capital is meant to be the showpiece of Kazakh culture and identity; and a symbol of economic prosperity and the regime’s geopolitical vision. In addition, it should become the centre of Central Asia, and also Eurasia, which is in line with the country’s legitimation strategy of i.e. playing the leading role in the Eurasian region.Show less
