The geopolitical context is not very favourable for Kazakhstan because the country is located between Russia and China, two totalitarian superpowers that actively use their legislation, institutions and law enforcement practices against their political opponents, journalists, human rights advocates, civil society activists and organisations. This geographical location also affects the enabling environment in Kazakhstan as repressive tactics used in Russia and China may be replicated in the country context. Civic space is currently rated as repressed, with civil society organisations operating under restrictive legal frameworks and uneven enforcement of fundamental freedoms. The human rights fallout after the “January 2022 events” when authorities suppressed mass protests and unrest, is still felt, and the lack of accountability for human rights violations perpetrated in that context remains. Despite the existing mechanisms of dialogue between the state and civil society, the effects of the USAID funding freeze are expected to lead to inspections of civil society organisations by government agencies and stigmatisation of activists as “foreign agents”.