Kazakhstan’s Foreign Policy: Adjusting the Priorities

Abstract

Kazakhstan’s foreign policy has been characterized by continuity for a long time. The country has been balancing between Russia, the West and China. In the context of the transformation of world politics and economy, as well as aggravation of relations between the West and Russia, the adjusting foreign policy priorities and its specific content are getting especially important for Kazakhstan. The realization of a special military operation by Russia has greatly impacted Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. Kazakhstan is under strong political pressure from the West. It requires Kazakhstan to change its foreign policy course and join anti-Russian policy. The study is aimed to identify new trends in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, both in the relations with Russia and the West as well as countries of Central Asia. For this purpose, the statements of the first persons of the state, reflecting the priorities, were analyzed. A special attention was also paid to Kazakhstan’s policy towards Russia, which remains a key partner. In the conclusion, the author identified the key priorities: an intensification of relations with the West, a search for new approaches to cooperation with Central Asian countries and preservation of balancing between Russia and the West.

Keywords

• kazakhstan
• foreign policy
• the west
• russia
• central asia