AlmaU Trust Barometer: The level of trust in Kazakhstan remains low

​The III International Conference "Public Trust and Social Capital" was held within the walls of AlmaU University. The event, organized by the School of Politics and Law, examined the level of public trust in Kazakhstan, the current state of social capital, and discussed development prospects. The conference was attended by Kazakh and foreign universities, representatives of non-governmental organizations, political parties, political scientists and experts, business and media representatives, students and teachers.

In the first half of the event, the results of a study by Bisam Central Asia President Leonid Gurevich and AlmaU Vice-Rector for Science Bakytzhan Sarkeev were presented. 1150 people were specially selected to participate in the study. The research work of the AlmaU Trust Barometer was carried out according to the methodology of the Edelman Trust Barometer.

“I want to especially note the Almaty University of Management, which annually holds this international conference on an ongoing basis. This study allows us to learn about the level of public confidence in the state, social status, as well as the demands and fears of society. Based on these data, we build political, economic, ideological strategies. I would like to note that this year the level of public confidence has increased, but it is still very low compared to other countries. Half of Kazakhstanis still do not trust representatives of the courts and local authorities. Based on this, the situation is rather alarming,”  Bisam Central Asia President Leonid Gurevich said in his speech.

GENERAL INDICATORS AND INDICES FROM TWO STUDIES:

The level of public trust.

The level of trust in institutions.

The level of trust in social leaders.

The role of the institution in society.

Level of social fear and anxiety.

Media approach.

Information hygiene index.

According to the results of the study, Kazakhstan is in the list of countries with the lowest level of trust - 42%. This is lower than in China or Saudi Arabia, but higher than in Russia and the United States. Most of all, Kazakhstanis trust the president of the country and the armed forces. According to the study, the trust index is 68% and 60%. But only 45% of citizens trust local governments.

The director of the Center for Applied Research "Talap" Rakhim Oshakbaev shared his opinion:

“We really need such studies. I think it is necessary to create an academic coalition that will prepare a proposal for further, deeper study of this problem.”

According to Nazarbaev University Associate Professor Dina Sharipova, the main factor in society's trust is overall satisfaction, consisting of a stable high income, good physical health, and confidence in the rule of law. To achieve this, of course, it is necessary to eradicate corruption, raise the level of education of the population, reduce the level of inequality, freedom to create public associations.

The theme of the second part of the conference was devoted to social capital. It was attended by: Head of the country's first neuromarketing laboratory Aiman ​​Kazybayeva, Advisor to the Director of KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Nursha, Senior Economist of the International Bank in Central Asia William Seitz, Head of the Department of International Relations and Regional Studies at KIMEP University Nigmet Ibadildin, Internews Network Regional Program Coordinator Gulnar Asanbayeva .

The second part of the conference was opened by the Dean of the AlmaU School of Management Aiman ​​Kazybayeva. She presented the results of a neurobiological analysis carried out jointly with students.

The purpose of this study was to determine the feelings of Almaty residents after the January events. The study was conducted using Facereading technology. Facereading - monitors the conscious and unconscious impulses of the respondent sitting in front of the camera. The main difference of the questionnaire is that a person cannot control his physiological reaction, it is analyzed by the facereading program. The study involved men and women aged 16 to 65 years. The respondents were dominated by feelings of sadness, anger, fear.

To strengthen public confidence, Advisor to the Director of KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Nursha spoke about various political reforms.

Also at the event, the book of the famous political scientist Francis Fukuyama "Senim" was presented, which was translated into Kazakh by the publishing house Steppe & World.

“One of the factors contributing to trust in society is the availability of education and science. Our publishing house is interested in translating into books that have shaped world history, transferring advanced ideas that shape modern science and education. We believe that the presentation of the Kazakh version of the world bestseller to the public at the international conference is the first step towards positive changes,” said Nazgul Kozhabek, editor-in-chief of the Steppe&World publishing house.