Multiple Institutional Logics within the (Trans)National Welfare Diamond: Child Welfare Transformation in Post- Soviet Kazakhstan by Sofiya An A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work University of Toronto © Copyright by Sofiya An 2014 Multiple Institutional Logics within the (Trans)National Welfare Diamond: Child Welfare Transformation in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan Sofiya An Doctor of Philosophy Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work University of Toronto 2014 Abstract For over two post-Soviet decades, Kazakhstan has experienced multiple transformations, big and small, visible and invisible, recognized and unnoticed. Focusing on child welfare transformation in post-Soviet Kazakhstan, this thesis pursues two research questions: (1) How have child welfare institutions changed in Kazakhstan in the post-Soviet period? (2) What was the role of (trans)national institutional factors (i.e., legal and regulatory environments, organizational policies and practices, and interorganizational relationships) and Soviet institutional legacies in shaping institutions of child welfare provision in Kazakhstan? Using an integrated multidimensional theoretical framework built upon the welfare diamond, a transnational approach, and historical institutionalism, I examine a mix of national and transnational organizations involved in child welfare reform, conceptualizing them as interconnected policy actors embedded in the historically contingent (trans)national institutional (legal and regulatory) environment. Using qualitative case study methodology for social policy analysis, this thesis draws upon data collected through interviews with key informants, conducted between June and ii September 2012, and textual documents (policy and legal documents, organizational and program documents, research reports, and media reports). The thesis develops two main arguments. The first argument concerns institutional factors that shape child welfare institutions. The transformation of the child welfare system was a function of relations among (trans)national organizational actors whose behaviors were constrained and enabled by the wider (trans)national legal/regulatory environment. The institutional environment and the child welfare diamond were characterized by multiple, competing, and shifting institutional logics. My second argument concerns the effects of the institutional and organizational environment on child welfare institutions. Multiple institutional logics, I argue, have accounted for the development of hybrid child welfare institutions, which encompass core Soviet-type child welfare institutions, maintained and reproduced, along with multiple layers of new institutions introduced over the past twenty years. This analysis indicates that the post- Soviet change in welfare provision consisted of numerous incremental and multidirectional institutional adjustments. iii Acknowledgements This thesis would have not been written without support, guidance and contribution of many wonderful people. I am deeply indebted to Professor Adrienne Chambon, my academic supervisor, for her kindness, patience and immense generosity in guiding me throughout the program and beyond. It has been great privilege and honour to have been her student. Adrienne has taught me how to engage with the beautiful world of ideas and has fundamentally changed the way I think. Frank Wang, who once was Adrienne’s doctoral student, aptly said that she helped him find his voice as a scholar. I could not put it better: not only did Adrienne’s thinking influence this work, but she encouraged me to search and find my own voice and identity as a scholar. I am grateful to Professor Ernie Lightman for his guidance in the field of social policy, for challenging and encouraging me at the same time, for being curious and open to new ideas, and for his warmth and support I could always rely on. I have been privileged to have Professor Ito Peng as a member of my PhD committee and to have benefited from her extensive expertise and generous advice on how to navigate the field. I was honoured to have Professor Graham Riches as my external examiner, whose insightful and thought-provoking comments and questions invited me to re-examine my thinking and to move beyond my doctoral research. I am extremely thankful to Professor Daniyal Zuberi, my internal examiner, for the time he spent on reading my thesis and for providing thoughtful and stimulating feedback. I am very grateful to fellow doctoral students: Sajedeh Zahraei, Marjorie Johnstone, Farah Mawani, and Meg Gibson, members of the informal thesis writing group, which was a place for sharing thoughts, feelings, laughter, and food during the most challenging phase of the program. My gratitude goes to Professor Sheila Neysmith, who welcomed me into the program and encouraged my inquiry into post-Soviet social policy transformation in Kazakhstan. I would also iv like to express my sincere thanks to Sharon Bewell, Registrar and Administrative Coordinator of the Graduate Programs and Student Services, for her continuous support, and to Dr. Barbara Fallon, Director of the PhD Program, for her kindness and responsiveness in solving my issues. I could not have done this work without the generous contribution of many special people who work in the field of child welfare in Kazakhstan and who shared with me their precious time and expertise during the summer of 2012. My special thanks go to amazing individuals and advocates for children’s rights in Kazakhstan: Assiya Khayrullina, Mayra Suleeva, Assiya Akhtanova, and Gulnur Khakimzhanova. My sincere appreciation goes to my friend Maria Stefurak for her valuable feedback on selected parts of this thesis. I would also like to acknowledge generous financial assistance I have received throughout the program from the University of Toronto (Connaught Scholarship, 2008-2014), the Government of Ontario (the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2012-2013), the School of Graduate Studies (Travel Grant, 2012, and Conference Grant, 2013), and the funding from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. To my family, thank you for your trust in me, love and support. v Table of Contents Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………………vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xi List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. xvi List of Appendices ...................................................................................................................... xvii Chapter 1 Introduction and Sociohistorical Context ....................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Country Information ............................................................................................... 6 1.1.2 Pre-Soviet Period (15th Century – 1917) ................................................................. 7 1.1.3 Soviet Period (1917-1991) ...................................................................................... 9 1.1.4 Post-Soviet Period (1991-2010) ............................................................................ 13 1.2 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework for the Study and Method ...................................................... 32 2.1 Post-Socialist and Post-Soviet Countries: My Use of Terms ........................................... 33 2.2 Welfare States Scholarship as a Western Project ............................................................. 34 2.3 The Welfare Regimes Approach ....................................................................................... 35 2.4 Post-Socialist and Post-Soviet Welfare Systems .............................................................. 37 2.4.1 Exclusion of Socialist/Soviet Welfare Systems from Welfare State Analyses ..... 37 2.4.2 Welfare Systems under Socialism ........................................................................ 38 2.4.3 “Transition”: A Framework for Post-Soviet/Post-Socialist Change ..................... 40 2.4.4 Post-Socialist/Post-Soviet Welfare Systems: A Challenge to Welfare Studies .... 42 2.4.5 Features of Post-Socialist/Post-Soviet Welfare Policy ......................................... 45 2.4.6 Welfare Diamond: A Sectoral Perspective on Welfare Provision ........................ 47 2.4.7 Transnational Dimension of Post-Socialist Social Policy .................................... 49 2.4.8 Historical Institutionalism: Historicizing Institutions ........................................... 52 vi 2.5 An Integrated Multidimensional Theoretical Framework for the Study .......................... 58 2.6 Method .............................................................................................................................. 61 2.6.1 Research Design .................................................................................................... 61 2.6.2 Key Variables and Operational Definitions .......................................................... 62 2.6.3 Sampling and Recruitment ...................................................................................