Abstract
This paper investigates what happens during reluctant reforms in which normative imperatives conflict with self-interest. In the literature one of the expected outcomes is hypocrisy. However, the claim of hypocrisy is a strong one and needs backing. The purpose of this paper is to investigate on the basis of which indicators such claims can be warranted and whether these indicators are found in the case of reforms in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The common thread in the literature about hypocrisy is the point of inconsistency. Inconsistency in two ways: in the case of reforms to claim to induce huge changes, while resulting in nominal reforms, not changing anything; and inconsistency in the reactions to and opinions about such changes showing ‘differential judgments according to contexts’. This is investigated for the reforms in Kazakhstan with regard to promoting democracy and protecting human rights during the last decade. The analysis argues that these reforms as well as the international reactions do possess all the elements indicative for hypocrisy. At the end the implications for research on reforms are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barden, J., Rucker, D. D., & Petty, R. E. (2005). “Saying one thing and doing another”: examining the impact of event order on hypocrisy judgments of others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(11), 1463–1474.
Batson, C. D., Kobrynowicz, D., Dinnerstein, J. L., Kampf, H. C., & Wilson, A. D. (1997). Unmasking moral hypocrisy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(6), 1335–1348.
Batson, C. D., Thompson, E. R., Seuferling, G., Whitney, H., Strongman, J. A. (1999). Moral hypocrisy: appearing moral to oneself without being so. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(3), 525–537.
Batson, C. D., Thompson, E. R., & Chen, H. (2002). Moral hypocrisy: addressing some alternatives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(2), 330–339.
Batson, C D., Collins, E., & Powell, A. A. (2006). Doing Business After the fall: the virtue of moral hypocrisy’. Journal of Business Ethics, 66(4), 321–335.
Brunsson, N. (1989). The organization of hypocrisy: Talk, decisions and actions in organizations. NY: John Wiley and Sons.
Brunsson, N. (2002). The organization of hypocrisy: Talk, decisions and actions in organizations. Stockholm: Liber.
CIC Caspian Information Centre. (2006). Kazakhstan and the OSCE: The 2005 Presidential Election and Kazakhstan’s Bid to Lead the OSCE in 2009. Occasional Paper No. 11, 2006.
Council of Europe, Resolution 1526, 2006. Parliamentary Assembly. http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta06/ERES1526.htm.
Crisp, R., & Cowton, C. (1994). Hypocrisy and moral seriousness. American Philosophical Quarterly, 31, 343–349.
De Vries, M. S. (2010). Ranking countries based on good governance. A critical assessment of the Worldwide Governance Index, in African. Journal for Public Affairs, 3(2), 1–18.
Downs, A. (1957). An economic theory of democracy. New York: Harper and Row.
Fukuyama, F. (2011). The origins of political order. London: Profile Books.
Kaufmann, D., Kraaij, A., & Mastuzzi, D. (2010). The worldwide governance indicators: methodological issues. New York: World Bank.
Kayaoglu, T. (2001). International Norms, Territorial Sovereignty, and the Abolition of extraterritoriality, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, CA, August 30–September 2, 2001.
Kazakhstan News Bulletin, Special Edition, Embassy of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada, Washington DC, 9th May 2006.
Krasner, S. (1999). Sovereignty: Organized hypocrisy. New Jersey: Princeton UP.
Lipson, M. (2002). Peacekeeping: Organized Hypocrisy? Paper prepared for the Workshop on Peacekeeping and Politics, Columbia University, October 17–18.
Matsumoto, D., Seung, H. Y., & Fontaine, J. (2009). European Journal of Personality, 23, 251–264.
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). (2002). The media situation in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Vienna.
Przeworski, A., Alvarez, M. E., Cheibub, J. A., & Limongi, F. (Eds.). (2000). Democracy and development political institutions and well-being in the world 1950–1990. New York: Cambridge UP.
Ransom, M. R. (2008). Displaying hypocrisy through social judgments. PhD. Ohio University.
Stone, J., & Fernandez, N. C. (2008). To practice what we preach: the use of hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance to motivate behavior change. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 1024–1051.
Szabados, B., & Soifer, E. (2004). Hypocrisy: ethical investigations. Peterborough: Broadway Press.
USAID. (2011). IREX Kazakhstan Media sustainability index 2011. http://www.irex.org/resource/kazakhstan-media-sustainability-index-msi.
Valdesolo, P., & DeSteno, D. (2007). Moral hypocrisy: social groups and the flexibility of virtue. Psychological Science, 18, 689–690.
Watson, G. W., & Sheikh, F. (2008). Normative self-interest or moral hypocrisy? The importance of context. Journal of Business Ethics, 77(3), 259–269.
Wurtzel, A. E. (2006). Trends in contemporary ethical issues. New York: Nova Science Publ.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
de Vries, M.S., Sobis, I. Reluctant Reforms: The Case of Kazakhstan. Public Organiz Rev 14, 139–157 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-012-0210-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-012-0210-y