MARGINALIZATION OF THE CHARITY SECTOR IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

The article examines the process of marginalization of the charity sector in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the context of the transformation of public discourse and the decline in public confidence in civil society institutions. The relevance of the study is due to the growth of high-profile media scandals related to the activities of charitable organizations, as well as increased regulatory rhetoric from government actors, which contributes to the formation of a stable negative perception of charity as a social institution. With the dominant discourse of control and suspicion, charity work is increasingly losing its status as a socially acceptable practice and is perceived as a potentially risky and stigmatized form of civic engagement.

The purpose of the article is to analyze the mechanisms of the marginalization of charity as a social process, as well as to identify the role of public arenas and rhetorical strategies in the construction of this problem. The object of the study is public arenas and the content of statements and demands articulated in the media space and official sources; the subject is the marginalization of the charity sphere. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the constructivist approach to the analysis of social problems, the concept of public arenas by S. Hilgartner and Ch. Boska, a model of rhetoric of social problems by J. Best, as well as the typology of the rhetorical styles of P. Ibarra and J. Kitsuza. The empirical basis of the study was the case of Perizat Kairat, which has become widespread in the Kazakh media space and has become the subject of active public discussion. The analysis revealed that the predominant form of representation of the case is emotional-moralizing rhetoric, focusing on individual violations, moral responsibility and damage to public trust. At the same time, there is no clear distinction between private abuses and systemic characteristics of charitable activities, which helps to generalize a single incident to the level of a symbolic threat to the entire sphere.