Multivectorality of the Central Asian states in the new geopolitical reality

Abstract

Phenomenon of the multi vector foreign policy conducted by five Central Asian states Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan emerged soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union as a response to plurality of possible directions for development of Central Asia, which for a long historical period served as a bridge connecting South and East Asia with Europe and the Middle East. The geopolitical and geostrategic position of Central Asia was the main factor for involvement of leading world actors in the region. In this conditions adoption of multi vector foreign policy, which suggests development of the progressive and balanced relations with the existing centers of power was the only possible variant for Central Asian states to strengthen their sovereignty and independence, gain an impulse for wide range of domestic reforms and invite investments for further development. Despite the fact that since 1991 have passed more than 25 years and the geopolitical system of relations in Central Asia has radically changed, the elites of the Central Asian republics realize that maintaining the multivector foreign policy in the format it was established in the period since independence has become a difficult task under current conditions. Reduction of the US presence in the region, ongoing crisis in Ukraine and China’s activation in Central Asian direction transform the geopolitical system of relations in Central Asia, which loses its flexibility and impedes the effective implementation of a multi-vector foreign policy. However, the weakening of some vectors and the parallel strengthening of others does not mean their complete disappearance from the foreign policy palette and the refusal of the Central Asian states to develop relations with each of the vectors, maintaining multivectorality. Key words: Central Asia, Russia, China, The USA, geopolitics, multi vector foreign policy, narrowing of space, balancing, the Ukranian crisis, the Silk Road Economic Belt