ALMATY – Kazakhstan is strengthening the institutional role of its Security Council, a move experts say could mark a shift toward more systematic strategic analysis and preventive risk management as the country’s understanding of national security expands beyond traditional defense and law enforcement.
On Aug. 31, Tokayev received Balayeva in her new capacity and outlined a number of priority tasks. Photo credit: Akorda. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree on Aug. 28 establishing the Security Council Apparatus as a state body directly subordinate to and accountable to the President.
The move was accompanied by changes to the council’s leadership: Aida Balayeva was appointed Deputy Chair of the Security Council, while Gizat Nurdauletov was relieved of his position as Secretary. The changes raise a question about the direction of Kazakhstan’s security architecture: whether the new structure primarily strengthens the administrative capacity of an existing institution or signals a more substantive expansion of the Security Council’s role in strategic governance.
On Aug. 31, Tokayev met with Balayeva in her new capacity and outlined several priority tasks, including those related to establishing the Security Council Apparatus. The new state body will deal with issues related to national security, legality and law and order.
The Security Council is a constitutional collegial body chaired by the President and responsible for coordinating a unified state policy in national security, defense capability and the protection of sovereignty. Political science expert Gaziz Abishev said the change could increase the council’s analytical and coordinating capacity.
According to him, creating a separate apparatus gives the council a more clearly defined institutional structure. “The Security Council of Kazakhstan is acquiring more specific institutional contours. President Tokayev signed a decree on establishing the Security Council Apparatus as a state body directly subordinate to the head of state.
This, it should be understood, anticipates strengthening the Security Council with personnel, technical and other resources,” Abishev wrote on his Telegram channel. Manarbek Kabaziyev, deputy chairman of the Board of the Foreign Policy Research Institute under Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry, sees the change primarily as an effort to improve strategic governance.
Manarbek Kabaziyev, deputy chairman of the board of the Foreign Policy Research Institute under Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry. “The creation of the Security Council Apparatus should, first of all, be considered in the context of further improving the system of strategic governance of the state.
Under modern conditions, the concept of national security has expanded significantly: it is no longer only defense and the law-enforcement sphere, but also information, technological, economic, energy, environmental and other components,” Kabaziyev told the Astana Times.
The broader definition of national security reflects the increasingly interconnected nature of modern risks. For Kazakhstan, this is particularly relevant given its geographic and economic position at the intersection of major Eurasian political, trade and transport routes.