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Abstract

Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Central Asian countries have undergone diverse national development processes. Each country has actively pursued soft power, a complementary tool to traditional diplomacy and a recently emerging field of soft power, in line with its stage of socioeconomic development. This has led to the active promotion of soft power. Various models have been proposed by each country. This study examines the current state of soft power cooperation and ODA in key Central Asian countries, particularly through a review of South Korea's case, by linking these developments to the ODA and AID sectors of individual countries.

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Abstract

Kazakhstan’s development pathway has experienced several stages of transformation. Since 2022, the country’s foreign policy has expanded its external partnerships through active engagement in both regional cooperation processes and the international agenda. The peacekeeping diplomacy remained as a core idea of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, leveraging partnership, mutual understanding, and the resolution of contradictions. In doing so, Kazakhstan demonstrated its soft power, which is far beyond its culture, and became important element of its middle power status.

If considering the soft power as an ability to get outcomes without coercion, as Nye asserted, then the foreign policy models of Kazakhstan and Singapore have common patterns of development which rely on soft power capabilities.

For example, by examining the development trajectories of two countries, it becomes possible to identify common patterns inherent to groups of those states taking rational steps against the backdrop of crucial historical moments. In terms of Singapore’s case, officially “pragmatism of small state” is one of the fundamental principles of its foreign policy adhering peaceful environment in Southeast Asia. Both have a colonial past and experienced a thorny path of decolonial transformation in terms of economy, political institutions, culture, and foreign policy maturity. In doing so, Kazakhstan and Singapore create common patterns of Asian development configurating new paradigms and narratives thanks to soft power capabilities.

The one problem that should be pondered in terms of countries’ soft power is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the Asian model of soft power. Despite many cases demonstrated successful soft power projects by South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Central Asia countries, etc., the model differing from Western views on soft power needs to be proved. Within the comparative studies of Kazakhstan and Singapore, it becomes possible to identify and measure the countries’ soft power pillars and then contribute to the development of an Asian model of soft power.

My intention to discover this relevant topic started from the broad literature review on soft power within my PhD program. In 2024, I published a book review on a topic, “Soft power in Central Asia: the politics of influence and seduction,” and revealed to the audience a scientific gap that is connected with the lack of a paradigm, in addition to Joseph Nye’s configurations.

In continuation of this work, I’m intended to share a piece of my doctoral dissertation in which I tested the cases of Kazakhstan and Singapore in the CESS conference.

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Abstract

Over the past two decades, the concept of soft power has become an important component of international relations and national image-building strategies. While many countries have developed comprehensive institutional frameworks to promote cultural influence abroad, the extent to which soft power is strategically institutionalized in Central Asian states remains insufficiently studied. This paper examines the development of soft power in Kazakhstan, focusing on its institutional foundations, strategic vision, and practical effectiveness.

The study analyzes whether Kazakhstan possesses a coherent soft power strategy and to what extent existing cultural, educational, and diplomatic initiatives contribute to the country’s international cultural presence. Particular attention is given to the institutional landscape that supports Kazakhstan’s external cultural engagement, including state institutions, cultural diplomacy initiatives, and emerging creative industries. The analysis situates Kazakhstan’s approach within broader theoretical discussions on soft power and cultural diplomacy, drawing on the conceptual framework developed by Joseph Nye and subsequent scholarship on cultural influence and public diplomacy.

In addition to institutional analysis, the paper includes a cultural case study that illustrates the role of popular culture in shaping Kazakhstan’s international visibility.

The paper argues that Kazakhstan’s soft power currently represents a hybrid model combining partially institutionalized cultural diplomacy with spontaneous forms of cultural activities generated by government bodies and individual cultural figures. While elements of a strategic framework exist, the country’s soft power remains fragmented and still in the process of consolidation. The findings highlight both the potential and the limitations of Kazakhstan’s emerging soft power model and contribute to broader discussions on cultural diplomacy and international positioning in Central Asia.

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Abstract

Introduction

This paper will provide a comparative analysis of the church in identity formation of Koryo

Saram communities in Central Asia and South Korea. The church is both a medium of homeland

soft power, but also its own actor in diasporic national consciousness. The church activates

diasporic consciousness through the basis of difference. It draws its ability to unify from the

collective memory of the "last" homeland, be that Korea in Central Asia or the former Soviet

Union in South Korea. This paper will explore the implications of this diasporic identity

negotiation in terms of soft power, long-distance nationalism, and immigration.

Methodology

This paper will rely primarily on the oral testimony of several key informants involved in the

formation of Koryo churches in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and South Korea. These

informants are pastors, missionaries, and leaders of Koryo churches. Informants are identified

through convenience sampling from the two biggest Koryo Saram communities by population in

Korea: Ansan and Incheon. The oral histories will serve to complement a literature review of

Korean Christian activity in Central Asia, as well as an analysis of the role of South Korean and

post-Soviet soft power in Koryo Saram diasporicity.

Purpose

This paper will fill in a gap in the literature on the supranational power of the church in the

immigration journey of Koryo Saram from Central Asia to Korea. The Korean church in Central

Asia has already been examined, as has Russian soft power on the Korean peninsula. The

changing role of the church in migrant Koryo Saram communities specifically is understudied,

however. South Korean missionaries representing the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist

churches transmit modern Korean language and culture through the Koryo churches, influencing

migration trajectories among Koryo In followers. Upon migrating to South Korea, some of these

devotees join Russian-language immigrant churches, which function as the heart of "returned"

Koryo In communities from across the former Soviet Union. The Koryo churches in Korea unify

distinct Central Asian national cultures through the Russian language and Russophone business

opportunities. This transformation process merits its own examination in an age of increased

transnationalism.