Cultural Determinism versus Administrative Logic: Asian Values and Administrative Reform in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Abstract

Cultural explanations of development claim that the choices a nation makes are dependent upon the country's deeply held norms and values. When this argument is extended to the realm of administrative science, it suggests that values rather than formal institutions under certain circumstances exert a determining influence in administrative development. The truth of this general proposition implies that societies that have similar cultural foundations and which undergo similar external pressures can be expected to follow similar paths of administrative change. Is this general tendency borne out by empirical observation? The present article examines this expectation using empirical evidence from the experience of administrative reform in two Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The article argues that these two countries, while having similar culture values and norms as well as a common administrative legacy, followed very different paths of administrative reform during the first decade of post-communist reorganization. The descriptive analysis of the two cases provides evidence for the conclusion that policy choice rather than cultural values played a determining role in administrative change in the countries reviewed. This argument rejects the assumption of cultural determinism, but does provide a nuanced interpretation of the continuing influence of cultural values on the process of policy.

Keywords:

• Administrative reform
• cultural determinism
• Asian values in Central Asia

Notes

27. There are of course many Asian paths. But one version that gained a great deal of celebrity was the formula of Singapore associated with Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's prime minister from 1959 – 1990 and later Senior Minister of State.

36. Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 4 October 2004 (No. 1022) “On the Model Structure of Local Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”

37. This statement appeared in the Russian language state-controlled daily newspaper, Kazakhstanskaya Pravda(4 November 2004).

38. The bureaucratic burden of maintaining strict currency controls can be expensive and it unavoidably creates an unfavorable climate for trade. An overvalued currency tends to channel trade into narrow and more easily managed sectors. It thus may appear to offer a solution to capital flight. However, there are great efficiency losses associated with currency overvaluation. It requires strict regulation of financial transactions, imposing a heavy burden of monitor and sanctions. Well-connected parties with access to cheap, government-financed foreign exchange and import licenses benefit greatly from this situation. These parties can be expected to lobby to maintain the situation despite great efficiency losses and the corresponding damage to the public interest.

39. Presidential Decree 3358 of 9 December 2003.