Social Media and Inclusive National Identity in Kazakhstan: A Case Study of Unknown Kazak

Abstract

Social media’s influence on the construction of national identity in Kazakhstan remains underexamined. Therefore, this study explores how social media users construct and contest the boundaries of inclusive national identity in Kazakhstan. Its main goal is to examine how social media users in Kazakhstan construct, negotiate, and contest the boundaries of national belonging, with particular attention to how inclusive and exclusive understandings of Kazakhstani national identity are articulated in online discussions. In doing so, it examines Unknown Kazak Instagram page with 177,000 followers that regularly posts content on the topics of Kazakh history, national identity, traditions, historical figures, and the language. In particular, the publications related to Kazakh national identity are analyzed using thematic analysis. The study also conducts a discourse analysis of the most-liked comments on four most-liked, widely discussed, and frequently shared posts. It was found that some users of digital media often advocate for an exclusive Kazakh identity, rooted in the conviction that being Kazakh is synonymous with being ethnically Kazakh. At the same time, another group of users tend to promote an inclusive Kazakh identity. Specifically, they seek to shape and contest the boundaries of national identity by emphasizing not ethnic origin, but a love for the culture and language, as well as unity among all citizens of
Kazakhstan. It was also found that how people contest national identity in the comments appears to
depend on the post’s content.