Researcher ORCID Identifier

0000-0002-1363-8391

Graduation Year

2023

Date of Submission

12-2022

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

International Relations

Reader 1

Hilary Appel

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2022 Boyang Liu

Abstract

Kazakhstan and Russia have maintained a close partnership since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In January 2022, a wave of unprecedented riots took place across major cities in Kazakhstan. Under the framework of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization), Russia deployed military forces to help Kazakhstan stabilize the situation. Many speculated that Kazakhstan must have made a deal with Russia to get its military assistance. However, Kazakhstan have not shown support to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While the Kazakhstani government have made official statements criticizing Russia’s invasion, Kazakhstani citizens have also expressed anti-war sentiments publicly.

This paper examines Kazakhstan’s position on Russia’s invasion through analysis of its official statements and domestic responses. Furthermore, this paper employs trade data offered by the Kazakhstani authorities to identify changes in Kazakhstani- Russian trade relationship after the war broke out. The author recognizes that while Kazakhstan keeps its multi-vector foreign policy and enhances relationship with multiple countries, it still maintains a same level of trade partnership with Russia as before. In particular, Kazakhstan has provided Russia with high-tech products that are sanctioned by western countries through a re-export process. The paper concludes with estimations of the trends in future Kazakhstani-Russian relationship.

Download

This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

Share

COinS