NORMATIVE POWER EUROPE IN CENTRAL ASIA: THE CASE OF KAZAKHSTAN
NORMATIVE POWER EUROPE IN CENTRAL ASIA: THE CASE OF KAZAKHSTAN

Summary/Abstract: For the last decade there has been wide debate on the European Union (EU) as a normative power actor in international politics. This article aims to contribute to this debate by analyzing the impact of the EU in Kazakhstan in the field of human rights. As one of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, Kazakhstan has emerged as an actor with a desire to win the recognition of the West as a modern, progressive power in the region. While the EU’s engagement in Central Asia does not have a long history, it considers Kazakhstan an important partner in the region. EU-Kazakhstan relations developed around different issue areas, the promotion of human rights in Kazakhstan being one of them. This study will examine the EU’s policy towards Kazakhstan with regard to human rights, focusing on the impact of such policies on the country’s improvement of its rights record.

• Details
• Contents