Kazakhstan’s Multi-Vector Foreign Policy

Abstract

The concept of multi-vector policy underlies Kazakhstan’s foreign policy strategy. However the implementation of this strategy in the UN General Assembly has not yet been studied. In this work, the author analyzes voting cohesion of Kazakhstan and Russia, China, the U.S., and Germany in 2007-2022, and also studies Kazakhstan’s behavior when the above countries voted oppositely. Based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of voting on more than a thousand resolutions concerning international relations or foreign policy, the author concludes that the main vector of this policy is not Russia, which is formally a key ally of Kazakhstan, but China. Most often Kazakhstan’s foreign policy position is identical to that of China (and least of all to that of the United States). In addition, Kazakhstan avoids offering explicit support to Russia on initiatives related to armed conflicts, including the one in Ukraine.