Intercultural Dialogue as a Foreign Policy Asset for Kazakhstan

• In Event: From Nuclear Legacies to Nation Building: Memory, Power, and Foreign Policy in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan and its Neighbors

Abstract

In recent years the use of memory and history have found their way into the theories of international relations (IR) and foreign policy analysis (FPA). To achieve given foreign policy ends, mnemonic actors often use and abuse the past, even disseminating historical disinformation. On the other hand, history can also serve as a means of reconciliation with difficult pasts.
Kazakhstan’s foreign policy constitutes a rich source of examples serving as evidence in favor of such constructivist conceptions of memory and history. Since independence, the country has turned the perceived tradition of peaceful coexistence of its various ethnic and religious groups and their inter-cultural exchange into a pillar of its foreign policy. Kazakhstan has achieved international recognition for its positive historic record, which it has used as an effective tool for achieving favorable perceptions and branding.
This paper traces retrospectively several foreign policy initiatives undertaken by Kazakhstan: the launch of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in 2002; the ministerial meeting “Our common world: progress through diversity”, convened in 2008; and the initiation of UNGA resolution A/RES/62/90, proclaiming 2010 as the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures. The Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, a constitutional organ established to manage inter-ethnic relations, was later replicated in other Central Asian countries, forming a network for regional cultural interaction.
The case study of Kazakhstan reveals considerable scope for further research into the influence of history and memory related issues on IR and FPA that have relevance to policy making.

Author

• Kamen Spassov Velichkov, Sofia U (Bulgaria)