The rise of a nation? Sino-Russian relations impacts on Kazakhstan from 2001 to 2018

Abstract

Economy and security are the main drivers of the ongoing Sino-Russian rapprochement, which has been happening since the beginning of the 2000s and are especially aimed at Central Asia. The region is a focus of shared interests to both Beijing and Moscow, which strengthens their search for an increased regional presence: on one hand, the Chinese are deepening its relations with local actors; on the other, Russians have been engaging in strategies that seek to maintain their influence in Central Asia despite the growing Chinese expansion over the region. Among the Central Asian nations, there is one that is particularly relevant in this context for geographic, economic and ethnic reasons: Kazakhstan. Thus, under the aegis of the Sino-Russian relations, both Beijing and Moscow have been striving to deepen, or keep, their presences in the country, which has been done mainly through economic and diplomatic initiatives. Even though this scenario has been causing several economic implications to Kazakhstan, the increased interaction between Astana and both Russia and China seem to be also reflected in other aspects of social and political order. In this sense, despite the government’s support to Chinese and Russian initiatives, Sinophobia and Kazakh worries regarding the Russian minorities are some examples of how Kazakhstan’s society have been reacting to the consequences of Sino-Russian relations. This dissertation, thus, aims to discuss what are the non-economic consequences of Sino-Russian relations towards Kazakhstan and to what extent they are related to the country’s nation-building from 2001 to 2018. The study will be conducted through a content analysis of official discourse and different content from media outlets from Kazakhstan to apprehend how different groups react to the subjects here stablished (Sino-Russian relations and Kazakhstan’s society and politics). This is an exploratory study inasmuch as academic contribution on the above-mentioned subject are limited.