Summary
Martin van den Heuvel
Kazachstan: van satelliet tot bondgenoot van Rusland?
Martin van den Heuvel looks at current political developments in Kazakhstan, one of the five new states that emerged in the Central Asian region following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Contrary to the other four states, Kazahkstan does not really belong to Central Asia, but has much closer historical, ethnic and economic ties with Russia. Therefore, since 1991 relations with the Russian Federation have been fairly good. Kazahkstan is not yet a full-fledged democracy, but is nowhere near a dictatorship. President Nazarbayev, in power for over decade, has wide discretionary powers, but he does not abuse his strong leadership position. He strives for good relations with both Russia and the West as well as gradual modernization and reforms.