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Copyright of International Relations & International Law Journal / Seriâ Meždunarodnye Otnošeniâ & Meždunarodnoe Pravo is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan had to re-build their bilateral relations, and today this process continues. Both countries face up to a number of objective difficulties, such as crisis and the need to develop new foreign and domestic policy doctrines. Nevertheless, several bilateral agreements show the governments' desire to establish closer co-operation and to look for new integration method. Cross-border cooperation presents one of these methods. This paper deals with specific features of interterritorial and cross-border cooperation between border regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, basic problems of cross-border cooperation in these regions. The authors identified the most important areas of further cross-border and interregional cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia. Relevant legal documents show intense cooperation development between the countries; this is confirmed by the participation of Kazakhstan and Russia in a number of international organizations, in particular, SCO, CIS, and the Customs Union. Development of cross-border cooperation presents a new stage in bilateral relations. Currently, the main difficulties that hinder such cooperation include inadequate legal framework, which requires improvement in order to meet the requirements of bilateral relations, the need to extend state funding, as well as the need to attract foreign investment.

Copyright of Bulletin of Ablai Khan KazUIRandWL: Series 'International Relations & Regional Studies' is the property of Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations & World Languages and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Relations & International Law Journal / Seriâ Meždunarodnye Otnošeniâ & Meždunarodnoe Pravo is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the reasoning and implications of the unrest in Kazakhstan unleashed in January of 2022. This crisis was the most severe form of violence that Kazakhstan has endured since gaining independence. It distorted Kazakhstan's image as a stable country. While the crisis was limited to the territory of Kazakhstan and developed mainly from domestic problems, it undeniably acquired an important international element. Kazakhstan's appeal to the CSTO presented a drastic change in Kazakhstan's foreign policy and ensued in the shift in the balance of power in the greater Eurasian region. Although Russia played a relatively subtle role on the ground, Russia's involvement was set to link the political future of Kazakhstan to Russia for an unspecified amount of time. The study concludes that Kazakhstan is faced with the challenges of undertaking significant reforms to lower the possibility of further instabilities while remaining true to its multi-vector foreign policy agenda amid Russian intrusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper is to reveal the impact of the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine on the foreign policy of Kazakhstan, as well as to consider the potential development of Kazakhstan's relations with China, Turkey, the United States and others. Analysis, induction, deduction and synthesis serve as the main methods of research on this problem. The article discloses the problem of preservation by Kazakhstan of a multi-vector, neutral policy in relation to its partners in modern conditions. The strategic programme documents adopted by the government of Kazakhstan were also studied. The analysis of interstate trade turnover for 2022 was used to determine relations between Kazakhstan and Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Separately, it was considered whether the Russian Federation poses a military threat to Kazakhstan. The materials of the article are of practical and theoretical value for political scientists and specialists in the field of international relations, and researchers of the foreign policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan interested in the features and aspects of the implementation of a multi-vector policy by its leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Relations & International Law Journal / Seriâ Meždunarodnye Otnošeniâ & Meždunarodnoe Pravo is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Drawing on the rigorous reading of Social Identity Theory (SIT), this paper reconstructs the ideational sources of Kazakhstan's status seeking by identifying the Kazakhstani perception of the (un)fairness of the international system, and the nature of the existing hierarchies in world society. By using the fine-tuned ideal types of status enhancement strategies as the basis of the coding scheme, a qualitative content analysis of Kazakhstan's first president's speeches and texts reveals that Nursultan Nazarbayev adopted a social cooperation strategy. He perceived the international system as permeable, although rather unfair, but nevertheless open for improvement through multilateral cooperation. Nazarbayev accepted the negative results of comparison and responded with an adequate agency. He cultivated a special niche of foreign policy as a champion of nuclear non-proliferation, and a place for open and constructive dialogue. Therefore, Kazakhstan projected itself as a doctrineless good power, without an alignment to a particular great power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About twenty rivers cross the Sino-Kazakh border, the biggest of them being the Ili and the Irtysh. For several years running, China has been steadily increasing water withdrawal, pushing Kazakhstan and the Russian part of Siberia towards an ecological disaster. This makes negotiations a must for both countries, yet Beijing prefers to talk separately to Moscow and Astana. In recent years, Kazakhstan and China have added more vigor to their cooperation on water-related issues: they have already signed a great number of agreements and set up workgroups and commissions, yet mutually acceptable solutions are nowhere in sight. In this paper we have assessed what has been done to move closer to water-related agreements and in which way the joint structures bring the sides closer to relatively rational use of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea are strategic partners who are currently deepening their partnership. Close cultural and humanitarian cooperation creates an additional foundation for long-term cooperation and expanding political and economic connections. The relationship between the two countries is developing on the basis of the Declaration of General Principles for Relations and Cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea, and the cultural and humanitarian interactions are regulated by the special Agreement on the Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation. Both documents were signed during the official visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to the Republic of Korea (15-18 May, 1995). The paper discusses the main elements and peculiarities of the cultural and humanitarian exchange between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For small open economies such as Slovakia, foreign demand is a significant factor in economic growth. Since Slovakia acceded to the European Union, its exports have focused primarily on the EU internal market. Therefore, one of its goals is to diversify the territorial structure of foreign trade. Kazakhstan is the economic engine of Central Asia, which has made significant efforts in recent years to transform its economy. The aim of the case study of the Slovak Republic is to examine its export opportunities to Kazakhstan using selected one-factor indicators of competitiveness based on their mutual foreign trade. The imbalance in Slovakia-Kazakhstan's foreign trade suggests sizable reserves. The work evaluates their foreign trade relations through indices of trade intensity, complementarity, and intra-industry trade. It identifies the export potential of Slovakia based on the concept of revealed comparative advantages and import significance of Kazakhstan in the examined period. In 2020, The export potential was used only at 2%, the export gap was 95,928 mil. EUR and concerned 56 commodities at the level of HS 4 aggregation. Considering the geographical distance and costs, Slovakia should focus on the export of goods with higher added value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through migration, expectations and obligations of social protection can change and migrants can be faced with the situation where they are not able to fulfil these new expectations, for example, because of a lack of (financial) resources. The sending of parcels to Kazakhstan will be used in this paper as an example of one form of symbolic protection - by which we mean protection where the symbolic value is very high whilst the material value is low - within the German-Kazakh social space, which allows migrants to maintain transnational ties and be the provider of protection to their relatives left behind. Drawing on interviews collected in a multi-sited matched sample approach, we demonstrate that when family members in both countries compare life chances, a 'transnational space of comparison' emerges. Transnational comparisons in the German-Kazakh social space shape expectations of reciprocity in informal protection that often diverge from those within the national space. For example, migrants in Germany can be defined by their family members as in need of protection within a national network but at the same time as providers of protection within transnational networks. We argue that transnational comparisons can lead to inequalities within multi-locally organised families, such as the exclusion of migrants in Germany from transnational informal protection. Our study contributes to the literature on social protection by drawing attention to a form of protection in transnational spaces that has low material but high symbolic value, indicating the symbolic dimension of social protection. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Percurso is the property of Revista Percurso and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Why did Kazakhstan, as an authoritarian post-Soviet state with moderate economic performance, become an Official Development Assistance (ODA) donor? In this article, we argue that state identity has a causal and constitutive effect on Kazakhstan's foreign policy through discursive development encounters between Kazakhstani state actors and representatives of the international development community. The research questions are addressed by applying discourse analysis to official documents and media articles from Kazakhstan and international sources, along with the ODA dataset collected during fieldwork, focusing on 2013-2019. The article concludes by stating that Kazakhstan's decision to become an ODA donor is primarily motivated by the political elite's desire to boost national prestige and patriotic spirit among the population through the implementation of the domestic development program "Kazakhstan 2050," which would include the country on a list of 30 developed countries, the condition of which is to provide and institutionalize ODA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International Criminal Law [ICL] contains a number of general principles, which form the foundations of and conditions for holding individuals criminally responsible for crimes under international law (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression), and other crimes against the peace and security of mankind. Most general principles of ICL have been adequately implemented in the current (second) edition of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This paper assesses the quality of and identifies the lacunae in the implementation of Kazakhstan's Criminal Code, with a view to suggesting further improvements to this Code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today the established cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has reached the strategic partnership level. Also, the two neighboring countries are partners in the international large-scale projects as the SCO and the New Silk Road Initiative. This paper claims that these projects are mostly lead by China. Moreover, it is argued that the SCO is aimed to solve the security issues and the New Silk Road Initiative embodies the economic agenda of the bilateral relations. Kazakhstan's role and position is significant due to different reasons, while the Kazakhstani public remains cautious about the Chinese activity in Kazakhstan. The two named mechanisms are eventually focused on economical and cultural leadership of China among the secured multilateral cooperation in the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines Kazakhstan's relations with Southeast Asia, an area of study which has been given little attention so far. It firstly analyzes Kazakhstan's multivector foreign policy, arguing that Kazakhstan has been trying to pursue an omnidirectional hedging strategy by diversifying its partners to enhance its strategic space. Secondly, it looks at how Southeast Asia is seen as part of this strategy, particularly as alternative economic partners for Kazakhstan. It argues that there are greater opportunities for enhanced economic interaction due to Kazakhstan's central role in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), membership of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) that is shifting toward Asia, and reinvigorated economic diplomacy. Thirdly, it examines Kazakhstan's relations with five key Southeast Asian states – Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand – which are Kazakhstan's largest trading partners in the region and arguably viewed as the Southeast Asian countries with the most potential to play a role in Kazakhstan's omnidirectional hedging strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the mass media perception of the European Union (EU) in Kazakhstan by utilizing the content analysis of the major mass media outlets. The authors examine news reports and periodical articles from four major national Kazakh newspapers using three measurement points. The first measurement point covers the early 1990s when Kazakhstan declared independence and began to establish its foreign relations. The second measurement point covers the periods before and after introduction of the EU Strategy for Central Asia (2006–2008). The third measurement point covers the years (2011–2013) associated with implementation with the EU Strategy and assessing its results. Our main findings suggest that Kazakhstan's mass media positively perceives the role of the EU in the region. Moreover, they tend to portray the EU mainly as an economic powerhouse. Our findings support some suggestions by similar studies of the EU's external perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sino-Kazakh negotiations concerning water distribution of cross-border rivers have reached an impasse for the past six years. This article hypothesizes that China's stance on Sino-Kazakh cross-border river issues is fundamentally driven by China's assessment of separatism/terrorism in Xinjiang and its national policy concerning domestic water conservation. The argument is developed using the process-tracing method. The major finding of this research is that Sino-Kazakh cross-border river cooperation is facilitated by China's reliance on Kazakhstan as an anti-separatist/counter-terrorist partner and thwarted by China's national securitization of domestic water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the 2014 Ukraine crisis, Belarus and Kazakhstan appear caught in an alliance security dilemma characterised by intra-alliance threat and entrapment, as both are potential targets of militarised hybrid warfare by their vastly more powerful ally, Russia. Despite having sought foreign policy flexibility between the two increasingly opposed geopolitical camps of the West and Russia, Minsk and Nur-Sultan appear drawn further towards Moscow. Utilising their pre- and post-2014 national security documents, reinforced by an examination of their rhetoric and policies, this essay demonstrates how both countries reassessed their security environment in the wake of the annexation of Crimea and the initial war in the Donbas region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Philosophy, Culture & Political Science is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyses Kazakhstan's vision of long-term development and its ambitious goals. After revising the history of the infrastructure projects in the country during the tsarist period and the Soviet era, it sets out the plans of the Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, to turn the country into a logistical hub between East and West by 2050. Later, the paper puts Nazarbayev's vision in the context of the political and economic reality of Kazakhstan, focussing, specifically, on how the government's multivector foreign policy fluctuates between Russia's regional integration projects and the Chinese push westwards to develop Xinjiang province along the new Silk Road. As a conclusion, it identifies the multiple goals that may put the future of this plan in doubt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the domestic situation and international commitments of Kazakhstan, reasons why Kazakhstan should be at the helm of the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the achievements of their OSCE chairmanship. Under President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan established a history of working in regional organisations and has proven its ability to fulfill its obligations, a prerequisite for the OSCE chairmanship. A brief background on the political system of the country is provided.

Kazakhstan's key goal for its chairmanship is to host an OSCE summit in 2010. In order for a summit to advance the Organization's human dimension work, Kazakhstan must first take concrete steps to improve its own human rights record. A summit should reaffirm the participating States' existing human dimension commitments, and their intent to address European security in a comprehensive manner, including compliance with OSCE norms in all three dimensions. It should also demonstrate the Organization's ability to address new human dimension challenges by starting the process of creating OSCE norms regarding the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The year 2020 marked a change in Kazakhstan's approach to Kazakh asylum seekers from China. For the first time, ethnic Kazakhs escaping China's security and ethnic policy apparatus in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR; Xinjiang) were granted a right to a temporary stay in the country. The status was valid for one year only, yet it was a significant improvement as until 2020 similar cases were lost in Kazakh courts. This change was possible due to the international advocacy of local Kazakh human rights activists, the growing international recognition of the Xinjiang issue by the West, and the ambitions of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who has been developing his own style of the presidency with social issues as its centrepiece. The purpose of this article is to assess Tokayev's approach to Xinjiang as a human rights issue in the context of his domestic and foreign policies. This article argues that despite the initial improvement in how the country dealt with asylum seekers from China, the situation of both human rights activists and refugees has deteriorated, forcing them to seek shelter in a third country. The article also finds that Kazakhstan's foreign policy under Tokayev has been increasingly China-oriented, prioritizing economic and political relations with Beijing over those with the West. This approach immediately affects Tokayev's strategies towards anti-Chinese activists and asylum seekers from China; it also has a long-lasting effect on the country declarative multi-vectoral and Eurasian foreign policy outlook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017, the draft of the law on patriotic education was submitted to the State Duma. The document clearly signaled that Russian authorities were starting to prepare for long-term resistance to external threats, both military and cultural. This development follows the adoption of five decrees with a similar focus. Exploring this "patriotic turn," our research will focus on how power shapes collective memory and how the Russian patriotic campaign is perceived elsewhere in the post-Soviet space, namely in Kazakhstan. In this way, we want to shed new light on the nexus between historical memory, anti-Western resistance, and the foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Relations & International Law Journal / Seriâ Meždunarodnye Otnošeniâ & Meždunarodnoe Pravo is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches / İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Central Asian states are more complex than what a first glance at their authoritarian nature might suggest. Despite their relatively recent independence, they have strengthened and managed to effectively improve their economic performance. This article aims at analysing two case-studies, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and demonstrating how their statehood evolved in relation to both domestic dimensions (such as the traditional legacy of clans and the more recent Soviet experience) and powerful international influences, especially those of Western-driven neoliberalism, neighbouring Russia and China. While neoliberalism has had a significant impact on Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan has remained more anchored to the legacy of the Soviet Union. Yet both states have demonstrated autonomy in their economic choices and strong political agency; far from being pawns in the hands of Great Powers, they are active protagonists of twenty-first century global politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article joins the discussion on foreign aid triggered by the rise of multiplicity of emerging donors in international development. Informed by the constructivist framework of analysis, this article evaluates the philosophy and core features of Kazakhstan's chosen development aid model and explains the factors that account for the construction of distinct aid patterns of Kazakh donorship. This article asserts that Kazakhstan embraces a hybrid identity as a foreign aid provider through combining features and characteristics pertaining to both—emerging and traditional donors. On one hand, it discursively constructed its identity as a "development cooperation partner," adopting the relevant discourse of mutual benefit, respect for sovereignty, and non-interference, which places it among those providers that actively associate themselves with the community of "emerging donors." On the other hand, it selectively complies with policies and practices advocated by traditional donors. This study suggests that a combination of domestic and international factors played an important role in shaping Kazakhstan's understanding of the aid-giving practices, and subsequently determined its constructed aid modality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines different stages of the development of China–Kazakhstan cooperation and identifies major factors that have facilitated the advancement of close links between them. It explains China's role in Kazakhstan's multi-vectored foreign policy and demonstrates major milestones in the expansion of bilateral political and economic ties. It also addresses the current developments of China–Kazakhstan cooperation, particularly as related to the implementation of the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) initiative. In conclusion, the article argues that the China–Kazakhstan cooperation may promote the implementation of the SREB initiative, while also contributing to the consolidation of authoritarian regimes in the wider region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines Kazakhstan's relations with ASEAN. Kazakhstan has often tried to engage with ASEAN and to become part of its dialogue mechanisms, but the lack of significant trade relations, vast geographical distance and logistical hurdles, and low mutual awareness have proven obstacles to more substantive relations. However, China's increasing influence in Kazakhstan and its Belt and Road Initiative, in which Kazakhstan plays a central role, has opened up possibilities for greater engagement and cooperation as well as ASEAN's increased interest in Kazakhstan. For Kazakhstan, ASEAN's success in regional cooperation could also be a useful model for the growing interest in regional cooperation in Central Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to study the interconnection between energy resources, gas in particular, and the foreign policy of Central Asian post-Soviet states. It is suggested that gas as an internal economic factor has an impact on the foreign policy formation of Central Asian states. The comparison of five countries--Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan--leads to the conclusion that rich gas reserves together with profitable export opportunities have enabled Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to pursue "flexible" foreign policy, which in this article means the possibility to stay away from military alliances and economic/political international organizations created by Great Powers. Since independence, Turkmenistan has adhered to the "positive neutrality" strategy and pursued the "open door" policy, while Uzbekistan has affirmed its commitment to a self-reliant foreign policy. These strategies exclude a close alignment to Great Powers and participation in the economic and military organizations created by them. In contrast to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which do not possess gas, have directed their foreign policies towards the integration into the regional/international organizations led by a Great Power -- Russia, and, therefore, remained heavily dependent on it. The leaders of these two countries believe that pro-Russian policy is the only way to survive. Therefore, both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan became parts of almost all of the Russian-led economic and military initiatives. Kazakhstan represents an exception: on the one hand, this country sits atop the large reserves of gas but, on the other hand, it still stays aligned with Russia. The article offers the following explanation for this exception: Kazakhstan's gas sector is still immature, while the export is not as diversified as in other gas-rich states of Central Asia; Kazakhstan shares the largest border with Russia hosting the majority of ethnic Russians, who could create potential threats to Kazakhstan's national security. Given these factors, Kazakhstan does not have the possibility to pursue "flexible" foreign policy as other gas-rich Central Asian states do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though Central Asia is often studied through the prism of its relationships with external powers, research on local public perceptions of these different actors has largely been overlooked. The literature on Kazakhstanis' perceptions of their neighbours, for instance, is scarce, and mostly focused on analysis of official discourse on Kazakhstan's multi-vector policy, with little exploration of how this is received, appropriated or refuted by the population. On the basis of Gallup data spanning the last decade, and several other surveys, we test most of the main hypotheses usually advanced to explain attitudes to the US and Russia – age, ethnicity and access to information – and draw five main conclusions: (1) Kazakhstanis are not defined by an exclusive pro-US/pro-Russian dichotomy; (2) they nevertheless largely choose Russia over the US if forced to pick; (3) age does not have a significant effect on foreign policy attitudes; (4) ethnicity does affect some of the attitudes under consideration, but its effects are not large enough to produce markedly different opinions among ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Russians in aggregate; and (5) consumption of media from Russia and access to non-governmental and Western sources of information do not seem to have significant effects on the attitudes under consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes different ways Russian speakers residing in Petropavlovsk, a city in northern Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia, make sense of the place they inhabit and form a sense of belonging to it. Politically and geographically speaking, Petropavlovsk serves as a contested area divided between Russian and Kazakhstani nation-building projects. While keeping in mind the antagonistic politics of both states, this research rather focuses on the everyday practices and personal narratives of Russian speakers living in this area. With the help of empirical material collected during the interviews and dwelling alongside the participants, this article demonstrates how through symbolic practices and everyday life experiences Russian speakers differently construct their understanding of Petropavlovsk as a Russian, Kazakh, and global space simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on recent scholarship, this essay contributes to further developing a conceptual understanding of multivector foreign policy, a term that, despite its frequent use, is still in need of additional refinement. I use the two-pronged concept of diversification as hinging, first, on simultaneous co-alignment with multiple major power providers and, second, as resulting from the interaction of variables at both system and unit levels. The essay then models a causal mechanism to explain Kazakhstan's approach to international infrastructure connectivity, an oft neglected issue-area of interstate collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers quantitative and qualitative parameters of foreign trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan with BRICS countries. The regional economic integration became natural result of development of foreign trade in goods and services in the territory of countries. The attention is focused to the development of foreign trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan and BRICS countries. The accumulated BRICS and Kazakhstan foreign direct investment is also analyzed. The authors analyzed the main indicators of foreign trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aytis is a central component of Kazakh oral literature. It is a duelling performance of improvised oral poetry between two aqins (poets, or bards) accompanying themselves on the dombra, a two-stringed plucked instrument. This article analyses contending issues in a transnational aytis between Chinese and Kazakhstani aqins, and explores how gender plays into the complex interplay of transnational identity politics, nationalism, performer positionality, and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. This article argues that, though minority actors are subject to state-patronized national projects and the gender paradigms those projects entail, they can also obtain empowerment from performing tradition as a way to legitimize their status as culture producers and flexible citizens. Situated as the guardians of a constructed gender balance in society, women performers of oral tradition occasionally find themselves with opportunities to transgress the boundaries of their national and gender norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]