Abstract:

This paper presents informal restorative systems of conflict resolution as found among Kazakhs engaged in cultural preservation in diaspora. Advocates of restorative and transitional justice practice have long drawn from practices of indigenous peoples to form the basis for more sustainable, relational, participatory, community-based approaches to conflict resolution. Since the Republic of Kazakhstan gained independence, repatriated diasporic Kazakhs, who through cultural survival in diaspora retain more of their ethno-cultural characteristics, have influenced a revival of Kazakh language and culture. The purpose of this study was to understand the indigenous informal restorative conflict resolution practices of the Kazakh people. The questions that drove this study were: What indigenous informal dispute resolution practices have been in use among Kazakhs, as reflected in their folklore and proverbs; which such practices have continued in use among diasporic semi-nomadic Kazakh populations; and, which of these practices, if any, are restorative in nature? This ethnographic multi-case study incorporated participant observation and semi-structured interviews of participants selected through snowball sampling from among diasporic Kazakhs in, or repatriated from, China. Kazakh folklore and proverb collections were examined for conflict resolution practices and values at the family and kinship levels. The key themes identified through coding of data, namely, moral education, conflict prevention and conflict resolution, are all carried out by elders within their communities, and point to the importance of supporting and strengthening the moral and social authority of such elders. The strengthening of elders as community peace builders can serve as one means among others of building resilience within Kazakh ethnic communities against conflict, both within those communities, and within multiethnic communities. The encouragement of indigenous informal restorative Kazakh systems of conflict resolution can also inform reassessment and reform of Republic of Kazakhstan public policy as to alternatives to punitive criminal justice practices.