“What major threats will your country face in the coming decade and what

instruments of foreign and security policy will be most useful to deal with those threats?”

For any state, the issue of ensuring national security and protecting national interests in
international relations is one of the strategic issues in the development of the country’s foreign
policy. This manifests and implements the sovereignty of the state, which implies its right to act as
an independent subject of international relations, to determine foreign policy in its own interests and
to independently resolve issues of foreign economic activity. It is no secret that in the modern world
there are security threats associated with a targeted impact on the economic and military potential,
social development, the information space, the environment and other areas of state activity.
Ensuring regional security is linked to preventing the main threats and challenges, in particular,
drug trafficking, the spread of religious extremism and terrorism, and illegal migration. The security
of Kazakhstan is determined by the policy and strategy of the Central Asian states in the framework
of ensuring and protecting their own national interests, as well as the level of integration processes
in the region. At the present stage, the whole range of relations depends on the implementation of
the policy of the leading world players, in particular, on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan,
the solution of the water problem, etc. A multi-vector, balanced foreign policy Kazakhstan allows
us to strengthen regional security and expand integration processes with the Central Asian states. At
the beginning of the XXI century, Kazakhstan under the leadership of the First President of the
Republic of Kazakhstan N. A. Nazarbayev has firmly taken the place of one of the regional leaders,
successfully demonstrating the foreign policy initiatives implemented to ensure regional security
and strengthen cooperation. However, at the moment there are problems in ensuring the regional
security of Kazakhstan and these problems may threaten the future conduct of the country’s foreign
policy.
The main goal of the regional security system is to create a mechanism for developing a
policy and strategy of states in the field of first protecting their own national interests, and then a
policy of cooperation and interaction with other regions in order to address emerging global
challenges that need to be addressed at the regional level. In this general form, the formation of a
system for ensuring regional security serves to counter not only threats to regional, but also threats
to national interests.
Kazakhstan’s national security problems are inextricably linked to the state of cooperation
between the Central Asian republics. The development of regional relations and interaction between
the Central Asian countries have traditionally been in line with countering new threats and
challenges, and in this regard, Kazakhstan’s interaction in international and regional security
structures is an important direction of its foreign policy. The complex problems related to regional
security are connected, first, with the policy of large states in Central Asia. Asia, in particular - the
United States, Russia, China and regional leaders - Turkey, Iran; secondly, with the internal
political processes taking place in the Central Asian countries. According to Murat L. (2011), in the
policy of relations with regional neighbors, Kazakhstan gives priority to large-scale cooperation as
one of the leading countries in Central Asia (Мурат, 2011).
The solution of integration processes in the aspect of regional security and their stability
and, accordingly, the security of regional development itself depend primarily on the political
stability within each country that is part of a particular region or regional association. There should
be a coordinated understanding of the main threats, including the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and conventional weapons, the manifestation of terrorist excesses, environmental
pollution, the spread of narcotic drugs, which require consideration in the policy of ensuring
regional security and stability of integration processes (Tavares, 2009). 
Thus, the main threats and challenges in Central Asia are the spread of terrorism, religious
extremism, drug trafficking, illegal migration, as well as the problems of cross-border rivers and
ensuring water security, resolving issues of unified energy systems, unresolved border territorial
disputes and the level of participation in regional integration processes.
 Tasar (2017) notes that the contradictory political processes in the Central Asian region
associated with the influence of the so-called “color revolutions”, the activation of Islamic radical
groups have once again confirmed the need to deepen the dialogue of the leading world powers on
integration and cooperation in a wide range, including regional security issues in North-East and
Central Asia, Afghanistan, the Middle East, the fight against global terrorism, as well as on energy
issues. In this context, the activities of various regional organizations (CSTO, CIS, SCO, etc.), the
deepening of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia, and China,
Western countries. Given that the international legal field of Eurasia is further diversifying security
systems and cooperation, it is of great practical interest to study the processes of regionalization and
institutionalization of security systems, their mutual influence, as well as the study of the policies of
the leading powers (including in the field of energy) in this strategically important region of the
world (Tow, 2007).
Major geopolitical players, such as the United States, the European Union, China and
Russia, have historically had an interest in this region and have pursued a corresponding foreign
policy aimed at ensuring national interests. An important role in ensuring security and developing
cooperation is assigned to Kazakhstan, which, over the years of independence, has pursued a
balanced multi-vector foreign policy and is positioned in the world as a stable and prosperous state.
According to Professor M. T. Laumulin, the history of the emergence and consolidation of the
United States in Central Asia is part of the great geopolitical battle that American strategists, under
the influence of their own theoretical and geopolitical constructs, have been waging for almost a
century. In the face of the US, Kazakhstan faced the most serious challenge, the most stubborn and
uncompromising geopolitical player (Laumulin, 2012).
At present, regional security is closely linked to the settlement of the military-political
situation in Afghanistan. In the states located around this state, the processes associated with the
withdrawal of US troops from this country in 2014 are of serious concern (Inomzhon, 2009). In this
context, the US policy of establishing military bases on the territory of Uzbekistan, which again
suspended its membership in the CSTO in June 2012, is of particular concern. During the official
visit President of the Republic of Uzbekistan I. A. Karimov, one of the central topics of the talks
was the “Afghan issue” and the discussion of joint actions to stabilize the situation in Central Asia
after the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan in 2014.
Another important geopolitical player - China considers Central Asia as a sphere of its
exclusive interests, so Chen and Fazilov (2018) believe that in the near and medium term China
and Russia, competing with each other or uniting on the ground of confrontation with the West, will
fight for the geostrategic space and strategically important minerals of Central Asia and the Caspian
region.
At the same time, Nurysheva, Amrebayeva and Amrebayev (2020) rightly note that
Kazakhstan is the first country that voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons. Kazakhstan’s peace
initiatives, including the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in Central Asia, the adoption of the
International Day against Nuclear Testing, and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of a
Nuclear-Free World, have received broad support from the international community. Playing a very
important role in promoting the process of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, as well as
maintaining nuclear security, Kazakhstan makes a huge contribution to ensuring peace and stability
throughout the world. Thanks to wise decisions the First President Nursultan Nazarbayev,
Kazakhstan has achieved quite impressive success in this area. At the same time, anti-nuclear
initiatives and actions have become important prerequisites for the political and economic
development of Kazakhstan, creating a favorable environment for the continuous improvement of
the country’s status in the international arena.
In this case, integration appears as a form and method of reaction of the modern world
community to global challenges and threats. Today, integration is one of the dominant factors of
modern world politics and is one of the forms of interstate interaction, which means that it should
be in the sphere of foreign policy. Integration processes have covered almost all regions and states,
exerting a decisive influence on foreign policy.
 A distinctive feature of modern integration processes is their extension not only to the trade
and economic sphere of interstate interaction. Within the framework of integration, there is a search
for solutions to problems to strengthen international security, combat new challenges, ensure
sustainable social development, preserve the environment, etc. States are trying to implement global
political governance and solve global problems at the regional level (Anceschi, 2020). 
Nazarbayev’s integration initiatives were embodied in the creation of a number of Eurasian
regional organizations, such as the Eurasian Economic Community, the Conference on Interaction
and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the CSTO, and the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO). Time has already shown the relevance and usefulness of such regional
structures, which together form the geopolitical landscape, strengthen the structures of regional
security and carry an important stabilizing function (Kassen, 2018).
The CICA process has been implemented and recognized by the entire international
community. It should be noted that the CICA includes the largest Asian powers: India, China and
Russia, which not only understood the fundamental idea of Nursultan Nazarbayev to establish an
atmosphere of trust in Asia, but also became active participants in the new structure. The
geographical coverage of the organization’s participants is quite wide. The total area of the
countries is about 400 million square kilometers - about 89% of the entire territory of Asia and 72%
of the territory of the Eurasian continent. These countries are home to more than 2.8 billion people,
which is 45% of the world’s total population. It is also necessary to take into account the powerful
energy potential possessed by the CICA countries, which confidently occupy leading positions in
the world in terms of oil reserves, which account for 40% of the black gold on the globe (Черевык,
2020, Yang, 2019).
Thus, the components of regional security for Kazakhstan have two important points: first,
the development of cooperation in various spheres - political, economic, cultural between states
within the geopolitical region and, secondly, the development of cooperation between the regions.
These are the defining trends in ensuring the security of the development of the modern world
order. The world experience of integration processes shows that the success of integration depends
on every citizen, cooperation develops from point actions to megaprojects, and partnership
contributes to the prosperity of the country and the well-being of every citizen.
In his address to the nation, former President N. A. Nazarbayev noted that “we will pursue
our balanced foreign policy, interacting not only with the West, but also with the states of Asia.
Eurasian integration is an important factor of regional stability and increasing the competitiveness
of our economies. We are ready to support the aspirations of other CIS countries to join the
Eurasian integration” (Назарбаев, 2012). The answer to the global challenges and threats of the
XXI century will be the expansion and deepening of Eurasian integration. Forming Customs The
Union allowed us to move to a Single Economic Space, which will create conditions for the
successful implementation of the idea of the Eurasian Economic Union. Kazakhstan is a full-
fledged actor in the global political process and a regional leader in ensuring regional security and
initiator of integration processes and associations. Systematically and systematically developing
mutually beneficial relations in line with friendship and good-neighborliness with the Central Asian
states, Kazakhstan needs to be a committed architect of building a stable and secure peace in the
region.

References

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Eurasian heartland. Palgrave Communications, 4(1), 1-12.
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