Abstract:

This paper examines whether Kazakhstan is a mid-power by testing it on the basis of the three theoretical approaches to defining a middle power. These three approaches include defining a middle power by a country’s position, geography and behavior. Each of the approaches is tested in relation to Kazakhstan. I also focus on Kazakhstan’s diplomacy in a comparative perspective in relation to the model of a middle power.

I argue that the testing of the existing theoretic approaches proves the emerging status of Kazakhstan as a middle power. Testing the “positional” and “geographical” approaches to Kazakhstan make it possible to qualify the country as a potential middle power. Analysis of the “behavioral” approach and its subsequent testing in relation to the country indicates that the successful implementation of a number of foreign policy initiatives, the development of “niche” diplomacy, proves the status of Kazakhstan as a middle regional state.

I also argue that it is important to study Kazakhstan on the basis of a constructivist approach, which can be based on the country’s self-identification as a “mid-power”. Kazakhstan has defined itself for the first time as a mid-power in the region in the Foreign Policy Concept of Kazakhstan for 2020-2030. The scholarly literature by Kazakh and foreign authors on the policy of Kazakhstan as a middle power, the projects of the Clingendael (2018) and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (2024) where Kazakhstan is included in the category of “middle powers”, self-identification of the country in the Foreign Policy Concept for 2020-2030, prove the importance of developing significant research in this area.

The paper is based on working with academic literature on middle powers and documents on the foreign policy of Kazakhstan.