Abstract
One of the most important areas for the development of the modern world is global and regional integration, including in the sphere of security. Napoleon Bonaparte’s famous idea that “state policy is determined by its geography” is quite applicable to Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. Strictly speaking, Kazakhstan’s multi-vector foreign policy is not only a subjective desire or “doctrine” of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev, but also a consequence of the geographic location of the young independent state, the emergence of a new geopolitical reality in world politics in the Central Asian region. Despite the fact that Kazakhstan’s diplomacy has to act against the background of a unique and very mobile geopolitical landscape, the foreign policy guidelines are clear: consistently uphold their national interests, continue the line on constructive interaction with other states, promote the strengthening of international stability and security, democratic foundations of Kazakhstan’s statehood.
Regional integration is one of the most important directions for the development of the modern world. Practically there are no states that haven’t been participating in any integration association. The number of integration groups and their types are increasing: the European Union, the CIS, NAFTA, APEC, ASEAN, ECOWAS, etc. Integration processes have affected absolutely all the regions of the world, from Europe to Africa. Such indicators mark that the process is accompanied by a number of benefits and acquisitions for the participating countries [1].
Well known Napoleon Bonap’s idea that “the policy of the state is determined by its geography”, is quite applicable to Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, to which President N. Nazarbayev pays a lot of commitment. And that is understandable – foreign policy issues are always the subject of the national governments close attention. Strictly speaking, the multi-vector foreign policy of Kazakhstan is not only a subjective desire or the “doctrine” of the president N. Nazarbayev, but also a consequence of the geographic location of the young independent state, the emergence of a new geopolitical reality in the world politics in the Central Asian area [2].
Kazakhstan, which is the second of the CIS (after the Russian Federation) in terms of the spaces, is located almost in the center of the Eurasian continent. The size of the state testifies a lot: firstly, about the large territorial spaces, which, could become after the collapse of the Soviet Union a “tasty morsel” for a number of states, including neighboring ones; secondly, the policy of the countries of the distant and near abroad could also be diverse with respect to Kazakhstan based on issues of its own security; thirdly, the size of the minerals could adversely affect the security and territorial integrity of the state… All these factors reflected on the adoption of the strategically important decisions by the Head of the State that determined the positive outcome of the all possible obvious and perceived threats to the country’s security.
In this regard, the questions of how Kazakhstan – a large Eurasian state that is the ninth largest in the world in terms of territory – will outline its foreign policy, what priority it is to follow and how its relations will develop not only with neighboring countries but also with the world community – all these questions were. This interest was also fueled by, first of all, the nuclear weapons in our territory, which, under certain financial and managerial efforts, could prove to be quite capable. It was not a secret that some extremist regimes also looked at the nuclear potential of our state with a great deal of resources. In some countries they even spoke of the temptation of creating the “first Muslim atomic bomb” [3].
Kazakhstan, a supporter of the idea of universal nuclear disarmament, with the assistance of Russia and the United States, dismantled, dismantled and removed nuclear weapons from its territory by May 26, 1995 [4]. Our country voluntarily abandoned the world’s fourth nuclear arsenal and closed one of the world’s largest nuclear test sites in Semipalatinsk. Kazakhstan’s striving for a nuclear-free status and the signing by our country of the START I Treaty, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) caused a respect and recognition of the world community.
Undoubtful the president N. Nazarbayev tribute, who in this difficult situation fully demonstrated his political intuition and ability to see the strategic interests of Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstani leader has made it clear to the world community that Kazakhstan has chosen a course of the constructive cooperation with the all interested countries [2]. The rapid disintegration of the USSR was accompanied by a number of the dangerous trends, including the possibility of the forming a Slavic and Turkic-Islamic alliance, which in itself carried a negative charge, and more above that one another threat arose – the complete disintegration of the post-Soviet space.
At the very beginning of the 1990s, most CIS countries held the view that it was possible to quickly enter the “big Europe” or “big Asia”. Moreover, political conflicts in some states of the Commonwealth, the desire for rapid integration into the West and the East, the hope for the foreign assistance overshadowed the need to preserve the existing economic links that had been worked out for decades within the Soviet economy. Such an approach slowed down the integration processes in the Commonwealth itself, exacerbated the economic problems, gave rise to the widespread discontent among the population. As one would expect, the harsh reality once again showed that the process of entering the world community is not so simple as it might have seen.
December 2, 1991 at a press conference on the outcome of presidential elections. President N. Nazarbayev for the first time, outlined the contours of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, defining its multi-vector character, and noted that Kazakhstan should become a bridge between Europe and Asia, developing economic and political ties with all the states of the world.
Taking into account the major social, political and economic transformations in Kazakhstan, President Nazarbayev determined the formation and maintenance of the favorable conditions for the successful implementation of the reforms inside the country, the formation and development of Kazakhstan as a sovereign Such an attitude, despite its external pragmatism, did not at all mean calling for isolationism or narrowing the scope of diplomatic work. On the contrary the task of worthy entry of Kazakhstan into the world community – as an indispensable condition for the successful implementation of internal reforms – was set through the developing bilateral cooperation with all interested countries. Owing to its geopolitical situation, Kazakhstan adheres to the multi-vector policy, pursuing a policy of developing the balanced relations with both European and Asian countries.
In 1992, our country joined the Council for North Atlantic Cooperation (since 1997 – the Council for Euro-Atlantic Partnership), a special body created to work with the new independent states of Eastern Europe and the former USSR. In 1994 Kazakhstan became a participant in the Partnership for Peace program, which was created to establish the new security relations between NATO.
Priority in the foreign policy of Kazakhstan was and is given to the development of the bilateral relations with neighboring states – Russia, China, Central Asian states, with all CIS countries. But it was clear that one should not be limited only within the framework of the region. Therefore, the leadership of the country from the very beginning sought to develop relations with all countries of the world, primarily with the United States, the European Union countries, Japan and other states of the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East states. Speaking about the efforts of our diplomacy to ensure global security and stability, we can not ignore the initiative of N. Nazarbayev, who was the first among the leaders of new independent states to propose the establishment of security structures on the Asian continent (1992).
This initiative was supported in practice by the all Asian countries, which play a significant role in modern international relations. Even such political antagonists as Iran, Egypt and Israel took an active part in the CICA process [3]. The meeting became an effective forum on the security issues, uniting today the 29 states of the Asian continent, that occupy more than 90% of the Asian territory and half of the world’s population. CICA since 2007 has the status of observer at the UN General Assembly. The forum’s authority as an effective dialogue platform for discussing and resolving pressing problems in the sphere of security, socio-economic, humanitarian and environmental cooperation, as well as seeking joint actions for new threats and challenges, is constantly being strengthened.
Objective evidence of Kazakhstan’s success during the years of independence was the chairmanship of our country in a number of authoritative international organizations.
In 2010, our country, the first of the former Soviet states, became chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Kazakhstan firmly and consistently increases its efforts to strengthen stability and security in the region and at the global international level. Kazakhstan became an OSCE participant in 1992 and thus connected to a developed security infrastructure and confidence-building measures based on a common value system, as documented in the documents of this organization.
This indicates the growing role of Kazakhstan in the international arena. Our country once again proved that it is the leader in the Central Asian region and a reliable partner of European countries. The result of the chairmanship was the OSCE Summit, which took place in Astana after an 11-year break.
The point of view of the leadership of Kazakhstan was heard, since the accent of the adopted “Astana Declaration” on the “dialogue of civilizations” and the inadmissibility of ignoring the way of life, traditions and history of different regions of the world was absolutely correct and in demand, because “this can lead to a fundamental crisis, based on which Social, cultural, religious rejection of the Western model of development” [4].
The next significant initiative of Kazakhstan and its leader was the proposal to hold the 100th anniversary of the Organization to develop a Global Strategic Initiative Plan – 2045. Its purpose is to give the world a new development trend based on equitable terms of an access of all the nations to the world infrastructure, resources and markets, as well as universal responsibility for Development of mankind.
During the years of state independence, our country has shown itself to be an active participant in the political, economic and socio-cultural processes taking place in the world. At the beginning of the XXI century Kazakhstan under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev firmly took the place of one of the regional leaders, successfully demonstrating the implemented foreign policy initiatives, aimed at ensuring regional security and strengthening cooperation.
Taking into account the changed situation, the RK Security Council adopted on 15 March 2014 a new Concept of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. According to the concept, Kazakhstan will make all-round efforts to ensure regional stability and security, counter new challenges and threats, including those originating from adjacent territories [5].
One of the key and authoritative organizations in the Asian continent is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which in recent years has significantly strengthened the mutual trust and a common understanding of collective security mechanisms. Within the SCO framework, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure is successfully operating, in which Kazakhstan actively participates. Under its aegis, the joint anti-terrorist operations are regularly conducted on a systematic basis, law enforcement agencies are cooperating as well. All this allows the SCO to become the most important integration component of the Central Asian collective security system.
The region of the “near abroad” is the one of the special interest for Kazakhstan. First, it is because of the immediate vicinity of its borders. Secondly, there is a common historical development of the regional countries. Thirdly, the close economic ties are maintained between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the countries of the “near abroad” as elements of the former united system of the national economy of the USSR.
But also Kazakhstan pays special attention to the Central Asian region due to the importance of the situation in this region. The importance of conflicts in Central Asia is determined by two key factors. The first factor is the large number of the regional population of Central Asia – it is more than that of the former Soviet republics in Eastern Europe from Estonia to Ukraine combined, three times more than the pre-war Syrian population and a little more than Turkey or Iran. Therefore, any major conflict in the region will undoubtedly cause great human casualties and a massive exodus of refugees. The second factor – the conflict potential of Central Asia will have a significant impact on Russia’s relations on the one hand, and China, Turkey and other Asian countries on the other.
The fate of the most countries in the region is in the hands of global players, and the question of the ability of some of them to become truly sovereign national states remains open. Economic growth and ensuring social and economic stability in the newly independent states now depend on the global and political, and economic, (mainly in the field of energy), conjuncture. The defeat of NATO in Afghanistan, the US concern over the development of China’s military capabilities and the energy interests of the West will strengthen NATO’s attempts to gain a foothold in Central Asia [6].
The United States, focusing on the Greater Central Asia strategy, will concentrate its efforts in the erosion of Russia’s presence in the region and on preventing the strengthening of Central Asian states (Iran, China) that could limit or weaken the influence of Washington in the region. As a result, the US / NATO will not be able to expand its control zone in Central Asia, where the gradually knotting contradiction between Russia and China against the expanding influence on the countries of the region by Iran, Afghanistan and India will stimulate the emergence of a zone of political instability.
The SCO, acting as a strategic but temporary compromise between Russia and China in the post-Soviet space, will partially retain the signs of an anti-American project in the period under review, but the influence of PRC in the organization will intensify, which will lead to the domination of the organization’s political and economic component. For their part, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, being members of the SCO, oppose the SCO’s involvement in military issues, fearing the emergence of Chinese military capabilities in the region of Central Asia [7]. Therefore, any major conflict in the region will undoubtedly cause great human casualties and a massive outcome of refugees.
Of great importance for Kazakhstan was the establishment and development of relations with the states of the Islamic world. At the same time, Kazakhstan’s leadership constantly stressed that our country is building its relations with Muslim countries not on an ideological or religious basis, but on the basis of its state interests and on universally recognized norms of international law [8].
In the development of the crisis in Syria, encouraging moments have appeared, this is directly related to the launch in Astana a series of regular meetings with the participation of interested parties. The peace talks in Astana (2017) were held on January 23-24, 2017. The goal is the end of the civil war in Syria. In total, seven delegations took part in the talks: Russia, Turkey, Iran, the United States and the United Nations, as well as two sides – representatives of the official Syrian government and the speakers of armed groups opposing President Bashar Assad. This was the first time in the history of the civil war in Syria, when in the course of a peaceful settlement both the authorities of the UAR and the rebels opposing it (both militants) appeared at the negotiating table.
The agreements reached during the Astana process, for example, on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria, have hadatangible impactonen suring the security of the population.Thiswasstatedduringtheexpanded meeting at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization by Russian President Vladimir Putin [9]. Experts note that it is in Astana that interested parties come to concrete results. The UN called the Astana process an integral part of the Syrian peace architecture, erected in difficult conditions. According to experts, the Astana negotiation platform shows a greater coefficient of efficiency than the Geneva meetings [10]. The results of the two-day meeting were summed up in plenary session with the participation of all parties. Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov in his speech stressed that the Astana process, which began with the direct participation and full support of the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has turned into an important negotiating platform, meaningfully complementing the Geneva format. The main outcome of the meeting was the signing the Memorandum on the establishment of de-escalation zones in Syria aimed at ending violence, preserving the unity and territorial integrity of this country, as well as political settlement of the conflict [11].
There should be an agreed understanding of the main threats, among which we can distinguish the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons, the manifestation of terrorist excesses, the proliferation of narcotic drugs that require consideration in the policy of ensuring regional security and stability of integration processes [12]. Thus, in the first half of the 1990s, based on the foreign policy doctrine and the concept of national security formed by Kazakhstan’s diplomacy, the main task was achieved – a worthy entry of the Republic of Kazakhstan into the world community as a new sovereign state. External conditions were also provided for carrying out radical reforms. Despite the fact that Kazakhstan’s diplomacy has to act against the a unique and very mobile geopolitical landscape, the foreign policy guidelines defined by Nazarbayev are clear: consistently uphold their national interests, continue the line on constructive interaction with other states, contribute to the consolidation of international stability and security, democratic foundations of Kazakhstan’s statehood [13].
The head of Kazakhstan formulated the main goals of foreign policy: entering the country into the world community, ensuring its national security, promoting economic development of Kazakhstan, protecting the rights and interests of the citizens of the country abroad, the development of mutually beneficial relations with all states that are interested in this. At present, our country, in addition to the Central Asian region, seeks to intensify its activities in the formation of a system of collective security on a global scale.
In conclusion, assessing the process of formation of the foreign policy of sovereign Kazakhstan, it is possible to state with all certainty that the republic has rapidly entered the world community, is recognized all over the world, has its weight and a solid foreign policy resource – internal stability and economic growth.
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