Table Of Content’
Analysing Kazakhstan s Foreign Policy
This book investigates the roles that ideas and constructs associated with
Eurasia have played in the making of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy during the
Nazarbaev era.
This book delves into the specific Eurasia-centric narratives through which
the regime, headed by Nursultan A. Nazarbaev for almost three decades,
imagined the role of post-Soviet Kazakhstan in the wider Eurasian geopoli
tical space. Based on extensive fieldwork and sustained engagement with
primary sources, the book unveils the power implications of Kazakhstani neo-
Eurasianism, arguing that the strengthening of the regime’s domestic power
ranked highly in the list of objectives pursued by Kazakhstani foreign policy
between the collapse of the Soviet Union and Nazarbaev’s apparent with
drawal from the Kazakhstani political scene (19 March 2019). This book,
ultimately, is a study of inter-state integration, which makes use of a rigorous
methodological approach to assess different incarnations of post-Soviet mul
tilateralism, from the Commonwealth of Independent States to the more
recent, and highly controversial, Eurasian Economic Union.
This book offers a ground-breaking analysis of Kazakhstani foreign policy
in the Nazarbaev era. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Central
Asian Politics, International Relations and Security Studies.
Luca Anceschi is Senior Lecturer in Central Asian Studies at the University of
Glasgow, UK. He is the Editor of the journal Europe-Asia Studies and the
author of Turkmenistan’s Foreign Policy: Positive Neutrality and the Consolidation
of the Turkmen Regime, also published by Routledge (2009).
Central Asia Research Forum
Series Editor: Harun Yilmaz
Other titles in the series:
Leadership and Authority in Central Asia
The Ismaili community in Tajikistan
Otambek N. Mastibekov
National Identities in Soviet Historiography
The rise of nations under Stalin
Harun Yilmaz
Identity and Memory in Post-Soviet Central Asia
Uzbekistan’s Soviet Past
Timur Dadabaev
Migration and Identity in Central Asia
The Uzbek Experience
Rano Turaeva
The Management of Public Services in Central Asia
Institutional Transformation in Kyrgyzstan
David Scott
Xinjiang - China’s Northwest Frontier
Edited by K. Warikoo
Sustainable Energy in Kazakhstan
Moving to cleaner energy in a resource-rich country
Edited by Yelena Kalyuzhnova and Richard Pomfret
Eurasia and India
Regional Perspectives
Edited by K. Warikoo
Analysing Kazakhstan’s Foreign Policy
Regime neo-Eurasianism in the Nazarbaev era
Luca Anceschi
’
Analysing Kazakhstan s Foreign
Policy
Regime neo-Eurasianism in the
Nazarbaev era
Luca Anceschi
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Luca Anceschi
The right of Luca Anceschi to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Anceschi, Luca, 1976-author.
Title: Analysing Kazakhstan's foreign policy : regime neo-Eurasianism in
the Nazarbaev era / Luca Anceschi.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. | Series:
Central Asia research forum | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019053714 | ISBN 9780415711432 (hardback) | ISBN
9781315674698 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Kazakhstan–Foreign relations–1991-| Geopolitics–
Eurasia.
Classification: LCC DK908.8677 .A64 2020 | DDC 958.45/08–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019053714
ISBN: 978-0-415-71143-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67469-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Taylor & Francis Books
This book is for Carmine and Milo
Contents
List of illustrations viii
Acknowledgments ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1 Kazakhstani foreign policy in the pre-Eurasianist era:
(December 1991 to November 1993) 11
2 From ide ya to initsiativa?: Neo-Eurasianist Rhetoric in
post-Soviet Kazakhstan 26
3 Regime neo-Eurasianism and the failure of Central Asian
regionalism 56
4 Civilised divorce, marriage of convenience: Revisiting two
decades of post-Soviet re-integratsiya (1994–2010) 93
5 Eurasia without Eurasianism: Kazakhstan and the Eurasian
Economic Union 130
Conclusion: Foreign policy, power and identity in the
Nazarbaev era 164
Bibliography 170
Index 194
Illustrations
Figures
3.1 Kazakhstan: Direction of Trade [1995–2005; billion US$] 73
5.1 Member States Participation in ETPs [%; 2015–2017; N=1400] 139
5.2 Kazakhstan: Sectoral Distribution of Gross FDI Inflow [selected
categories; 2015–2018; million US$] 140
5.3 Kazakhstan: Gross FDI Inflow by Origin [selected partners;
2015–2018; million US$] 141
5.4 Eurasian Economic Union: Shipments Modal Shares [2016–2018;
percentage] 143
5.5 Kazakhstan: Total Trade with EaEU Partners [2015–2018;
million US$] 145
5.6 Kazakhstan: Perception of EaEU Integration [2012–2017;
percentage] 152
Table
3.1 Kazakhstan: Commercial Relations with Central Asia and the
Russian Federation 70
Acknowledgments
This book was initially conceived in Australia, researched mostly in
Kazakhstan and written, for its greater part, in Scotland. On this long
journey, I crossed paths with many colleagues who have made the comple
tion of this work a more meaningful endeavour. This is my place to thank
them all.
My first note of gratitude goes to the Research Support staff in the libraries
of the two institutions where I worked while preparing the book. In particular,
Kay Munro and Lynn Irvine, who managed the Russian and East European
Studies collection at the University of Glasgow Library, have often addressed,
with great patience and efficiency, my frequent requests for obscure material
on or from Kazakhstan.
Melinda Rankin and Anna-Sophie Maas have assisted me at different times
with the collection of statistical data for the economic analysis presented
through the book. Katerina Aleksoska proofread, with great flair and precision,
the initial chapters.
Particular thanks go to Dorothea Schaefter and her editorial team at Rou
tledge, who demonstrated great flexibility and patience while working on this
project.
I am particularly indebted to two colleagues, Marlène Laruelle (George
Washington University) and Nargis Kassenova (Harvard University), with
whom I frequently discussed Eurasianism and Kazakhstani foreign policy
more generally: their insights, as well as their brilliant scholarship, have
greatly strengthened the argument that unfolds in the following pages.
Through continuous exchanges (and much laughter) with Bruce Pannier and
Paolo Sorbello, I have been able to remain up-to-date with Kazakhstan’s
changing domestic politics.
In Almaty, the Department of International Relations and Regional Stu
dies at KIMEP University has constituted a stimulating intellectual home
during frequent research trips. I also want to acknowledge the many collea
gues in Kazakhstan who agreed to discuss topics germane to this book,
hoping that the inclusion of local views has made my argument more relevant
to the Kazakhstani IR debate, which continues to grow in sophistication and
richness.
