Online Petitions as a Way of Expressing Public Protest (on the Example of Petitions in Kazakhstan)

This study is devoted to the phenomenon of online petitions as a way of expressing public protest in Kazakhstan. The key hypothesis of the research defines the phenomenon of online petitions within the theoretical framework of the concept of participatory democracy or the practice of slacktivism. The research was carried out through a qualitative case study method, including the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collected from Kazakhstani civic and state digital platforms (ALASH.Online, OTINISH.kz, eOtinish) for online petitions for the period from 2019 to 2024. The study analyzed five different online petitions articulated in the public space of Kazakhstan: petitions for lowering the retirement age for women, abolishing the recycling fee, renaming the capital city, lifting the ban on hijabs in schools, and adopting a law on domestic violence. The main result of the study is that online petitions in Kazakhstan function as an effective tool for channeling protest sentiments, providing citizens with a platform to express and discuss socially significant issues, but are not a means of direct digital political participation. The results of the study allow us to assess the impact of online petitions on the political landscape of Kazakhstan and the involvement of citizens in decision-making processes at the level of political and managerial issues.