Özgecan Kesici
Thesis title: The Creation of the Kazakh National Identity: An Analysis of the 20th Century Kazakh Intelligentsia
Supervisor: Professor Siniša Malešević
Biographical Note:
My research interest lies in nationalism theories and the creation of nations. My dissertation looks into the specific case study of the Kazakh national intelligentsia, also known as the leaders of the Alash movement, which came onto the political scene of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th Century. The study will focus on three core questions: First, why such a national movement came into place demanding for the rights of a specific ethnic group, where in this region no such movement had been in place before. Second, it will look at the “emulating” character of the national idea and in how far the intelligentsia was influenced by Western ideas of the nation. Thirdly, it will examine the influence this movement left on the “re-creation” of the Kazakh nation under the Soviet Nationalities Policy. The main purpose of the dissertation is to analyse the actions and outcomes of the Alash movement from a sociological perspective.
I received my MA in Political Science, Law and Economics from the University of Munich in 2011 whereupon I spent two semesters working at the Center for International and Regional Studies at the Eurasian National University in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Conference Presentations:
„Der ‚kasachische Exodus’ und ein weiter Weg nach Europa“ (The ‘Kazakh Exodus’ and a Long Journey to Europe, in German), with Dr Annette Krämer, Weltsichten Ausstellung (World Views Exhibition), Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Germany, 18 November 2011.
Publications:
Kesici, Ö. (2012) ‘Germanyadaghi akil-oi ortaliktari’ (Think Tanks in Germany, in Kazakh), in Center for International and Regional Studies (ed.), The Establishment of Think Tanks in the World, Astana: LN Gumilyov Eurasian National University, 2012 (forthcoming).
Kesici, Ö. (2011) ‘Dilemma in the Nation-Building Process: The Kazakh or Kazakhstani Nation?’. Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe 2011(10): 31-58.
Kesici, Ö. (2011) ‘Kazakh or ethnic Kazakh?’. In: Schwartz, C. ed. Cyber Chaikhana: Digital Conversations from Central Asia. Berlin: PinguinDruck, pp. 155-156.
Awards Obtained:
2012 First Prize Essay Competition (“Ethnic Conflict and Poverty Reduction in Kyrgyzstan: Two Sides of the Same Coin”) German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Summer School in Tajikistan on Socio-Economic Aspects of Conflict Resolution.
2007 Receipient of Mobility Scholarship from Centre of Bavarian-French University Cooperation in support of academic exchange year (2007-2008) at Sciences Po Paris.
Email: ozgecan.kesici@ucdconnect.ie
