Russia's Relations with Kazakhstan ─ Rethinking ex-Soviet transitions in the emerging world system

Recent political developments in post-Soviet countries have raised novel issues regarding the stability of the post-Cold War world order. A new direction in policy has been exemplified by the recent bolstering of a number of post-Soviet political and economic institutions - such as CSTO, SCO and the Eurasian Economic Union - in which the role of Kazakhstan is considerable. In addition to its unique geopolitical location, Kazakhstan’s importance in regional integration structures and international relations more broadly is reinforced by its rich oil and uranium deposits.

This book analyses the changing relations between Russia and Kazakhstan and their impact on post-Soviet interactions with the rest of the world. Areas explored are political relationships, relationships in the military and security areas, the issue of Kazakhstan’s nuclear withdrawal, ethnicity and national identity, economic relationships, foreign policies, regionalism and international trends such as fluctuation of prices on global markets, GFC, or 9/11. Based upon extensive primary and secondary sources and interviews, it explores various aspects of the strategic relations between the countries from 1991 to the contemporary period. The author divides these relationships into several stages, related to the role of different patterns of foreign and national policy-issues during specific periods of time. Consideration of such divisions provides an opportunity for further evaluating the impact of specific issues on the broader strategic bilateral relations between Russia and Kazakhstan, as well as the significance of these ties on transformations in the post-Cold War system of international relations.

An important analysis of Kazakhstan, the second largest country in the post-Soviet world, this book will be of interest to researchers of International Relations, Post-Soviet Studies and Central Asia Studies.

Yelena N. Zabortseva is Lecturer in World Politics at the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, Australia.