It should also be stated that Kazakhstan is entirely a real place.

The meat of the controversy is that Borat, as a Kazakh reporter, is not exactly flattering to Kazakhstan's image, unless one thinks anti-Semitic, goat-copulating, misogynistic homophobes are flattering. This un-flattery has produced no shortage of protest against the (perceived) damage Borat is inflicting on Kazakhstan. Much of the protest has come from the Kazakh government itself—protest that Cohen (as Borat) has shrewdly exploited.

Nobody likes a party pooper, especially when it has a standing army.

So what's a country to do when it finds its image threatened by a comedian who, it could be argued in some parts of the world, is better known than the nation itself? Well, what a nation shouldn't do is exactly what Kazakhstan did.

The first fake-Kazakh vs. Kazakhstan showdown came after Borat made an appearance at an MTV Europe awards show last year. Kazakhstan's response, through foreign ministry spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev, was to threaten legal action against Cohen. Those savvy to the PR world know the inherent folly of attempting to combat sarcasm or satire with earnestness. Like the hydra, decapitation only leads to new heads. Kazakhstan was not savvy.

As could be expected, Borat's response was devastating(ly funny). It features the now well-reprinted highlight: "In response to Mr. Ashykbayev's comments, I'd like to state I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my government's decision to sue this Jew.... Kazakhstan is as civilized as any other country in the world. Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to 8 years old…. We have incredible natural resources, hardworking labor, and some of the cleanest prostitutes in whole of Central Asia."

It's OK to laugh.

Kazakhstan's next attempt was only slightly less of a failure. Kazakh authorities suspended Borat's website, which originally had a dot-kz domain name. Association of Kazakh IT Companies president Nurlan Isin said to Reuters, "He can go and do whatever he wants at other domains." Which is, naturally, exactly what Borat did. Of course, by continuing to take the absurd seriously, Kazakhstan was playing right into Borat's hands. The in-character comedian showed up recently at the White House (camera crew in tow) to issue a press statement during an official visit by Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Kazakhstan has also begun a New York Times and International Herald Tribune ad campaign and there are reports that TV commercials are in the works.

One feels for Kazakhstan but it's difficult to imagine the nation being on the losing end because of one telling detail about the whole scenario; though Cohen chose Kazakhstan for his fake character's real homeland, he could have used any one of the bordering nations without it affecting the joke at all. Imagine: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Uzbekistan. Or: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Turkmenistan.

Exactly.

Kazakhstan should see this as an opportunity to, in a manner of speaking, put itself on the map in the minds of wealthy Western tourists. It is hard to argue that Borat may be harming the image of a country that had no image to begin with. And recent news indicates that Kazakhstan is finally coming to realize this. An October 19, 2006, Reuters headline titled "Grumpy Kazakhs invite Borat to 'his' land, at last" and features Kazakh first deputy foreign minister Rakhat Aliyev saying, "I understand that the feelings of many people are hurt by Cohen's show but we must have a sense of humor and respect the creative freedom of others."

There is another completely different and wholly not-politically-correct and consequently certain-to-be-ignored way to look at how Borat relates to Kazakhstan's image. Most arguments for why Borat might be OK for Kazakhstan (including the one above) reason that "any publicity is good publicity," especially for a nation with no real image. While probably true, it ignores an uncomfortable reality of the modern world, namely that Borat—despite his bumbling idiocy, backwardness, and misogyny—is not Islamic-centric. This may be an important distinction for Kazakhstan in the mind of Westerners who, admit it or not, lump the "Stans" into one turban-wearing, terrorism-supporting, Islamic fundamentalist stereotype.

What's your take on the Borat phenomenon? If you were in charge of branding Kazakhstan, how would you react? Voice your opinion in our debate.

Abram Sauer has never been to Kazakhstan.