Abstract—An attempt has been made several times to identify and discuss the U.S. experience on the formation of political nation in political science. The purpose of this research paper is to identify the main aspects of the formation of civic identity in the United States and Kazakhstan, through the identification of similarities and differences that can get practical application in making decisions of national policy issues in the context of globalization, as well as to answer the questions “What should unite the citizens of Kazakhstan to the nation?” and “What should be the dominant identity: civil or ethnic (national) one?” Can Kazakhstan being multiethnic country like America, adopt its experience in the formation of a civic nation? Since it is believed that the “multi-ethnic state of the population is a characteristic feature of most modern countries in the world,” it states that “inter-ethnic integration is one of the most important aspects of the problem of forming a new social community (metaetnic - Kazakh people, Kazakh nation” [1]. Keywords—nation, civic identity, nation building, globalization, interethnic relations, patriotism I. INTRODUCTION T the current stage of the development of socio-political processes in the context of globalization, the problem of the formation of civic identity and strengthening of civil peace continues to be one of the most important questions of political science. According to the Kazakh scholar G.Beysenova, the process of formation of the international community at the beginning of the XXI century comes to a qualitative phase of its thinking, considering all the faults and mistakes of the past century [2]. By most researchers this stage is denoted by the concepts of “globalization” and “identity”. All countries of the world in varying degrees and in different capacities are involved in these processes, which are transient, determining the choice. II. NATION - BUILDING PROBLEMS IN KAZAKHSTAN AND THE USA The challenges of globalization, identity and nation- building are the subject of scientific research and they are under scrutiny of Kazakh scientists. In recent years the idea of forming unified Kazakh nation in our country similar to the American nation has actually been discussed in periodicals and the media. Elnura Assyltayeva is with Department of Political Science,Faculty of Philosophy and Political Science, Al-Farabi Kazakh State National University, Kazakhstan. E-mail: elnura007@mail.ru Zhanar Aldubasheva is with Department of Political Science , Faculty of Philosophy and Political Science, Al-Farabi Kazakh State National University, Kazakhstan. E-mail: zhanar-03@mail.ru Zhengisbek Tolen is with Department of Political Science , Faculty of Philosophy and Political Science, Al-Farabi Kazakh State National University, Kazakhstan. E-mail: zhenisbek-86@mail.ru This idea was first expressed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in his speech at the press conference of the XI extraordinary congress of the National Democratic Party “Nur Otan”. “... we are building our self-identity - to be a single nation of Kazakhstan. For example, Americans are made up of hundreds of people and nations, but are called Americans. No one calls each other Chinese or Korean there. And your nationality - is your business. And this is a right thing. Because one country is to live as one nation” [3]. Thus, the people of Kazakhstan have two ways to nation-building: the first is the choice of development for a model of the American “melting pot” and to become a civic nation by building civic identity. The second way is the establishment of the state with ethnic characteristic by the preservation of national, cultural and spiritual values of the Kazakh people. Under cover of a set of common narratives national identity has always been a subject of debate since the contested histories of colonial settlements, through the Civil War, the rise and fall of cities to modern debates about race, gender and language. Broadcasting in the twentieth century has long provided the apparent homogeneity, helping to build and strengthen the national identity of the internal security and economic growth. But now, when the country's history is told and retold many times, more apparent becomes the struggle for redefinition of American national identity and the establishment of how it should be plural. Any formulation of national identity bears the signs of struggle for power, so it isn’t a coincidence that the contest for the regulation of images in the American society generates a lively interest [4]. Thus, the term ‘civic identity” often used successfully in America, is referred to as “americanization”. So, americanization refers to process of “becoming American,” and to organized efforts to encourage the transformation of immigrants into “Americans”. The term was in informal use in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, but it is most prominently associated with the movement of that name during the 1910s and early 1920s. The term is often used interchangeably with assimilation. The “problem” of Americanization arises because American national identity must be constructed in the absence of primordial ethnic mythology, and in the face of exceptional diversity. There is general recognition that the United States is a “civic nation”, rather than an “ethnic nation”, in which devotion to “founding principles” is the source of national identity and community. The creedal nature of American identity carries the implication that anyone may “become American” by committing himself or herself to the nation's founding principles, and to their expression in distinctively American symbols and ways of living. However, the propositional nature of American identity carries with it the question of who is capable of the necessary understanding, and commitment to American principles, and to the ways of Formation of Civic Identity in the Process of Globalization: The Example of the U.S.A. and Kazakhstan Elnura Assyltayeva, Zhanar Aldubasheva, Zhengisbek Tolen A World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Vol:6, No:6, 2012 1155 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 6(6) 2012 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/1658 International Science Index, Humanities and Social Sciences Vol:6, No:6, 2012 waset.org/Publication/1658