Abstract

The paper draws on historical institutionalism to examine how asymmetric institutional structures between China and Kazakhstan shape the outcomes of BRI-led infrastructure development. It uses the concept of asymmetrical interdependence to explain unequal power relations and their implications for state-society relations. Broadly, situating the study within discussions of how Central Eurasia is evolving as an interconnected region, the paper aims to explain how BRI-led infrastructure development is reshaping Kazakhstan’s strategic space. This primarily includes key infrastructure corridors across the border region between Kazakhstan and China, which are central to connectivity. The paper aims to analyse, first, how these developments shape state-society relations through local responses; second, how infrastructure initiatives highlight the asymmetrical institutional structure and power relations between Kazakhstan and China.

The paper further argues that these power relations generate new socio-spatial vulnerabilities. The large-scale connectivity projects reconfigure not only economic geographies but also social hierarchies and local perceptions of risk and security. Therefore, the flagship Chinese connectivity initiative- BRI- can be seen not merely as an economic initiative but as a strategic instrument through which China seeks to stabilise its western periphery, particularly in relation to Xinjiang and transnational ethnic linkages involving Uyghur communities, thereby embedding security logics within development practices.

The paper further examines how China’s BRI interacts with Kazakhstan’s domestic infrastructure development program, Nurly Zhol, highlighting the 2016 alignment between the two. This alignment shows how Kazakhstan balances external projects with its own development priorities. By examining the connection between infrastructure development and power hierarchies, the paper locates large connectivity projects like the BRI within increased dependence of Kazakhstan on external actors, which shapes its position in Central Eurasia.