When Kazakhstan this year celebrates the 35th anniversary of its Declaration of State Sovereignty, it signifies far more than historical symbolism. It marks the story of how a nation born from a collapsing empire has evolved into Eurasia’s foremost middle power – a state that not only survives among great powers, but masters the art of balancing, adapting, and influencing them.
From periphery to power center
Glenn Agung Hole is an Associate Professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway and Honorary Professor at Sarsen Amanzholov East Kazakhstan University. Photo credit: Hole’s personal archive
When Kazakhstan declared sovereignty in 1990, it remained a peripheral piece in the Soviet puzzle. Today, the situation is reversed. The country has transformed geography from destiny into strategy. Flanked by Russia to the north, China to the east, and Europe and the Middle East as trade partners to the west and south, Kazakhstan has learned to play on multiple strings simultaneously and thereby become a strategic bridge in a fragmented world.
What was once a marginal republic of the Soviet Union has become a critical Eurasian axis, controlling key corridors for energy, logistics, and raw materials. Kazakhstan has understood what many smaller nations overlook: in the twenty-first century, power is not defined by dominance, but by relevance.
The multi-vector toolbox: the Kazakh Model
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev continues the multi-vector legacy of Nursultan Nazarbayev, yet with a more global and systemic approach. The country has developed a geo-economic toolbox that integrates energy, diplomacy, and digitalization:
Energy as currency – Kazakhstan remains a global leader in uranium, oil, and gas, while investing heavily in renewable energy and hydrogen.
Transport as strategy – through the Trans-Caspian Corridor, Kazakhstan connects China and Europe, becoming an indispensable link in global trade.
Finance as a bridge – the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) serves as a modern economic platform between Asia and Europe.
Culture as power – Kazakh identity and language are being strengthened while culture and education function as instruments of soft diplomacy.
This is not traditional diplomacy but rather functional sovereignty, the ability to act independently in a complex world without isolating oneself.
The Kazakh balance
Kazakhstan has deliberately avoided choosing sides and precisely because of that, it has maintained strategic autonomy. Where other nations are pressured to align with Washington, Moscow, or Beijing, Astana chooses to cooperate with all while submitting to none.
This is a middle-power strategy in practice: too small to dominate, yet too important to ignore. Kazakhstan exercises power not as coercion but as a platform for predictability and stability. Hence, the country is frequently chosen as a host for peace negotiations, international summits, and regional cooperation forums.
Geo-economics as national security
In an era when energy, resources, and logistics have become weapons of great-power politics, Kazakhstan has pursued a different path: transforming economic interdependence into national security.
Through partnerships with the European Union, China, and global financial institutions, the nation has constructed an economic shield, a network of interdependencies that makes it costly for major powers to exert excessive pressure. This is classical geo-economic statecraft: power through connectivity, not confrontation.
Sovereignty as innovation
For Kazakhstan, sovereignty is not a static notion but a living project. It no longer concerns liberation from Moscow but rather intellectual and technological emancipation to own its data, build its own digital infrastructure, and develop technology on its own terms.
Through sustained investment in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and green technologies, Kazakhstan demonstrates that sovereignty today is measured in innovation capacity, not merely territorial control.
The middle power as a model
At a time when small states are being squeezed between rival great powers, Kazakhstan shows that there is a third way to construct one’s own relevance. This is a middle-power philosophy built on strategic patience and systemic awareness.
Where Europe struggles with political fatigue and economic stagnation, Kazakhstan exhibits a rare synthesis of state discipline and geopolitical flexibility. It is no coincidence that the nation is increasingly regarded as a pivotal actor in the emerging Eurasian century.
The Second act of sovereignty
Three and a half decades after declaring sovereignty, Kazakhstan has not merely preserved its independence; it has refined it into a strategic art form. While others cling to ideology, Kazakhstan clings to reality. While others fear external pressure, it creates internal opportunity. Kazakhstan has proven that middle powers can serve as the true stabilizers of the international system – and that in an age defined by great-power rivalry, the ability to build bridges remains humanity’s most valuable resource.
Glenn Agung Hole is an Associate Professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway and Honorary Professor at Sarsen Amanzholov East Kazakhstan University.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Astana Times.
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