In conflict research, little is known about cases in which conflict is expected yet fails to materialize. This study tackles that gap by examining why a highly anticipated interethnic conflict in post-Soviet Kazakhstan did not occur and provides insights into how the absence of conflict is discursively conditioned. Introducing the concept of non-conflict, it offers a discourse-analytical approach that maps the political discourses shaping nation-building. The study finds that the hegemonic discourse of interethnic harmony established political boundaries that rendered conflict unintelligible. This highlights the shift in focus from the causes of conflict to the discursive conditions of conflict avoidance.
