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Signal: a network-state project signs a memorandum with a national government

On 27 July 2026 Kazakhstan's Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development signed a memorandum with Balaji Srinivasan's Network School, which has since launched in Astana. It is cooperation with a host state, not recognition, and the government says no state money is involved.

Polity Atlas editorsPublished 27 Jul 2026 · 1 min read

What happened. Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov met Balaji Srinivasan, founder of Network School, and the two sides discussed an international technology hub in the Akmola Region with later expansion to Alatau City, a 'Network State Conference' within a government AI forum, and a 'Network City' concept with modular buildings near the village of Burabay (Prime Minister's office). A memorandum on establishing Network School was signed with the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. The government stated that Network School projects are implemented through private funds, without state financing. The ministry later announced the official launch of Network School Kazakhstan at the Alem.ai centre in Astana (ministry release), and the project's website now gives Astana Hub as its location. Network School first opened in 2024 in a resort development in southern Malaysia.

Why it is a signal. In Srinivasan's account, a network state is an online community that acquires territory and eventually diplomatic recognition. No such entity has obtained recognition. What is emerging instead is a pattern of host-state partnerships: a government offers visas, premises and political endorsement to a membership-based community as a talent and investment policy, while keeping full sovereignty. This is closer to a special economic zone or a co-living campus with a state patron than to a new polity.

Questions it raises. A community that depends on a single government's goodwill is exposed to that government's priorities and political system; exit rights are strong for members but the community itself has little voice. It is also unclear what governance, if any, the community exercises over its members beyond the terms of a private membership contract.

What to watch. Whether the Network City plan acquires a legal status, such as a special zone or regulatory regime; whether residents stay for years rather than months; whether other governments sign similar agreements; and whether community institutions, such as dispute resolution or shared budgets, develop beyond those of a commercial campus.

Original source: Official Information Source of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan