The Fed’s next steps: Monetary policy and implications for social stability

On 2 January this year, a protest broke out in the small Kazakh city of Zhanaozen over a sharp rise in gas prices.

Over the following week, unrest spread to major cities across Kazakhstan, posing the greatest threat to the country’s post-Soviet regime since independence.

Although for the time being subsided, recent events in this strategically located Central Asian nation could have far-reaching geopolitical consequences.

They also highlight what is at stake as the Federal Reserve contemplates its next monetary policy moves.