Looking Forward: Kazakhstan and the United States

Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr, Bulat Sultanov, S. Enders Wimbush, Fatima Kukeyeva and Askar Nursha

Silk Road Paper September 1, 2014, pp. 54

Notwithstanding Kazakhstan’s entrance into the Eurasian Economic Union and a growing perception of American disengagement from Central Asia, the major finding of this report is that the strategic objectives of the Republic of Kazakhstan and of the United States today are mutually compatible and even mutually reinforcing. Indeed, each country needs the other in fulfilling its goals. Therefore, this paper argues that, to the greatest extent possible, both sides focus their energies with respect to the other on advancing these commonalities. Immediate events will inevitably impinge on this bi-lateral process, but they, too, must be addressed through serious discussion, not confrontation, and within the context of longer-term roles and objectives. In sum, this paper concludes that, to a greater extent than in the past, both countries need to nest their bilateral relationship within broader policies directed towards the Central Asian region as a whole.

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