Balihar Sanghera is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent.Elmira Satybaldieva is a Senior Research Fellow at the Conflict Analysis Research Centre, University of Kent.

“The book provides a timely examination of neoliberalisation, rentier capitalism and social discontents in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan with great analytical depth and conceptual novelty. It will be of great interest to scholars in a wide range of fields. The empirical materials and approaches of this book can be further mobilised to develop comparative understanding of rentier capitalism and its uneven geographies on a global scale.” (Yunpeng Zhang, Housing Studies, Vol. 38 (1), 2023)“The volume uses various methodologies … . The book brings together not only an expansive list of stakeholders who control rents from various industries and their political positions but also ethnographic data and multiple interviews collected over a decade with the people on the other side of the barricades. The rich narrative makes the book a valuable guide to rent extraction in various industries such asbanking, extractive industries, real estate and land ownership in Central Asia.” (Assel Tutumlu, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 74 (10), 2022)“This book offers a comprehensive, coherent, justice-oriented examination of the social, economic, and political processes … specifically in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. … I want to congratulate the authors, the readership, and the ordinary people of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—who represent the billions around the world who struggle for their dignity, social justice, and peace—on the publication of this brilliant book, which is also a trailblazer for post-socialist and post-Soviet studies.” (Galym Zhussipbek, Peace Research - The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Vol. 54 (1), 2022)“Rentier Capitalism and Its Discontents is such a timely and important book. … the book still offers a wonderful structural analysis of the scholarship which is the first to provide an in-depth critical analysis … in Central Asia so much explaining what has happening in other parts of the world. … I certainly recommend Rentier Capitalism and Its Discontents because it is an extremely valuable resource for those studying and rethinking political and socioeconomic dynamics in the Central Asian region.” (Kuat Akizhanov, Eurasian Geography and Economics, January 20, 2022)

• 1 Introduction.- 2 Theorising the economic transformation.- 3 The rise of the rentier class in the post-Soviet space.- 4 Rentier capitalism in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.- 5 Social movements and activism in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.- 6 Alternative economic imaginaries in Central Asia.- 7 Conclusion: The end of the road for rentiership?.

Balihar Sanghera is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent.Elmira Satybaldieva is a Senior Research Fellow at the Conflict Analysis Research Centre, University of Kent.

“The book provides a timely examination of neoliberalisation, rentier capitalism and social discontents in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan with great analytical depth and conceptual novelty. It will be of great interest to scholars in a wide range of fields. The empirical materials and approaches of this book can be further mobilised to develop comparative understanding of rentier capitalism and its uneven geographies on a global scale.” (Yunpeng Zhang, Housing Studies, Vol. 38 (1), 2023)“The volume uses various methodologies … . The book brings together not only an expansive list of stakeholders who control rents from various industries and their political positions but also ethnographic data and multiple interviews collected over a decade with the people on the other side of the barricades. The rich narrative makes the book a valuable guide to rent extraction in various industries such asbanking, extractive industries, real estate and land ownership in Central Asia.” (Assel Tutumlu, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 74 (10), 2022)“This book offers a comprehensive, coherent, justice-oriented examination of the social, economic, and political processes … specifically in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. … I want to congratulate the authors, the readership, and the ordinary people of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—who represent the billions around the world who struggle for their dignity, social justice, and peace—on the publication of this brilliant book, which is also a trailblazer for post-socialist and post-Soviet studies.” (Galym Zhussipbek, Peace Research - The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Vol. 54 (1), 2022)“Rentier Capitalism and Its Discontents is such a timely and important book. … the book still offers a wonderful structural analysis of the scholarship which is the first to provide an in-depth critical analysis … in Central Asia so much explaining what has happening in other parts of the world. … I certainly recommend Rentier Capitalism and Its Discontents because it is an extremely valuable resource for those studying and rethinking political and socioeconomic dynamics in the Central Asian region.” (Kuat Akizhanov, Eurasian Geography and Economics, January 20, 2022)

• 1 Introduction.- 2 Theorising the economic transformation.- 3 The rise of the rentier class in the post-Soviet space.- 4 Rentier capitalism in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.- 5 Social movements and activism in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.- 6 Alternative economic imaginaries in Central Asia.- 7 Conclusion: The end of the road for rentiership?.