The Limits of Authoritarian Modernisation: Zero Tolerance Policing in Kazakhstan

Abstract

We study police inertia and the depth of public mistrust in, and apathy towards, zero tolerance policing (ZTP) in Kazakhstan. Using survey, social media and official data we show how ZTP failed: politicians did not summon any political will for the policy, the police subverted any attempted reforms, while citizens ignored them. The failure of ZTP delineates the limits of authoritarian modernisation. We argue that modernisers require assistance from citizens in reforming police yet cannot mobilise such assistance due to public distrust which itself is created by authoritarian modernisers’ preference for police loyalty over police good behaviour. The consequence is a decoupling of the rhetoric from the reality of police reform.