Kazakhstan's multi-vector foreign policy in the context of great power growing conflict

Abstract

This study attempts to examine Kazakhstan's multi-vector policy in the context of the growing conflict between Great Powers. Scholars who have researched the strategies of multi-vector diplomacy emphasize that Kazakhstan's policy of diversifying its partnerships aimed at balancing the impact and interests of these Great Powers and preventing the creation of highly asymmetric relationships with them. The objective of the Thesis is to analyze the feasibility of Kazakhstan's traditional approach to engaging Great Powers such as Russia, the EU, China, and the United States in cooperation, given the recent conflicts. Specifically, the thesis focuses on two strategies of Kazakh multi-vector diplomacy addressing its Great Power partners - indirect balancing and omni-enmeshment - and measures change in partnerships in the areas of trade, FDI, and security. Using a Mixed Method approach, this research will identify whether the compositional balance of power or the methods and strategies targeting to maintain it, have been disrupted from 2014 to 2022. Research findings aims to enrich the knowledge on the multi-vector approach of Middle Power, its sustainability and adaptability in the frame of growing conflict between its key Great Power partners.