Discourse on Minority Rights in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This thesis project explores the discourse of politicized homophobia in Kazakhstan using Queer Theory within a poststructuralist framework and a critical evaluation of the way cis-heteronormative system establishes the discourses and reinforces them. The research covers detailed analysis of historical roots and sociopolitical pre-texts for the formation of discourses of politicized homophobia in Kazakhstan based on the history of politicized homophobia during the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. The paper draws on the insights obtained during the public hearing on the proposed legislation against LGBT “propaganda” in August 2024, analyzing the discourses promoted by political actors, who participated in the public hearing. The research identified patterns of dehumanization, vilification, and pathologization of LGBTQIA+ people within contemporary discourse of politicized homophobia within Kazakhstan.