The role of policy networks and policy transfer in Kazakhstan e-government policies

This thesis combines two relatively novel concepts of public administration: e-government and public policy. In this dissertation, e-government, which is often explored as a self-sufficient notion, was investigated as a case study within the framework of public policy. The term "e-government policy", produced from such combination, is a rare phenomenon in present academic literature. Hence, this thesis strives to study not only how certain public services can be amplified through the use of ICTs, but also challenges to examine how such amplification attempts are designed using different practices and techniques widely utilized in the field of public policy. In this regard, the major objective this dissertation aims to achieve is to address e-government development and its implementation through different projects in Kazakhstan and to assess policy making in the country using e-government policies as a case study. To reach this objective the author reviewed the literature on e-government as a concept and e-government implementation in Kazakhstan. The author then tested the policy making on the example of e-government in Kazakhstan using two important concepts of public policy: policy networks and policy transfer. The data collected from the literature were complemented by a series of interviews conducted with a wide range of e-government policy actors in Kazakhstan and abroad. The analyzed data and findings presented in the dissertation not only allow to review the design and implementation of e-government in Kazakhstan, but they also help to establish the basic patterns of generic policy making in the country. This dissertation thus would be useful for policy makers and practitioners involved in both Kazakhstan and countries having a similar public administration context, especially those of post-Soviet space.