Suchergebnisse

Introduction : democracy and the local-global nexus of global dominance -- Political systems and international relations after the Cold War -- Localizing the international : on similar pathways and variant outcomes of socialization in IR -- Post-Soviet Kazakhstan's democratization pathway (1991-2001) : 'failed' socialization or 'successful' localisation? : how newly independent Kazakhstan became a 'democracy with Soviet characteristics' -- Kazakhstan's continued democratization pathway (2002-2012) : from 'Soviet characteristics' to the 'Kazakh way' -- The 'Kazakh way' : a Chinese construct? -- Strategic localization going global? : the Belt and Road Initiative -- Conclusion : democracy and the local-global nexus of global dominance in a multipolar world.

Does China deliberately promote democracy resistance in non-Western, non-democratic states so as to weaken the prevalence of liberal norms on the local level and thus contribute to the normative diversification on the global level? Drawing upon insights from international socialization theory and social psychology, this book examines China's efforts to multi-polarize - and hence potentially de-liberalize, even de-Westernize - the international system from a local perspective, investigating Beijing's normative engagement in post-Soviet, newly independent Kazakhstan. This is a nation that, during a two-decade trajectory of political development (1991 – 2012), experienced a substantial normative turnaround: it evolved from an enthusiastic supporter of liberal democracy and the West's normative domination of international affairs into an overt critic of both – however, only after the Kazakh government institutionalized its relationship with the Beijing-initiated and -led Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Using a quasi-experimental research design, this book traces and juxtaposes the respective patterns of Kazakhstan's democracy-oriented regime transformation and political identity development before the SCO entered the region (1991 – 2001) and after (2002 – 2012), yielding not only unexpected conclusions about the quality of post-Soviet democratization outcomes, but also about Beijing's local and global influence potentiality – and its limits.

The security risks of post-Soviet Central Asia are pronounced and therefore present on the agendas of most international actors, including the US, Russia, and China. The EU is also concerned, although it has hitherto not been known for political success in the region, especially in terms of security. Indeed, the EU's approach to the region - oriented toward transformation, liberalization, and democratization - has been largely labeled a failure, with minimal impact and progress. Against this background, this article will review and discuss the nature of the threats to Central Asia's security, establish the extent of the EU's actual "failure" by examining the distinct characteristics of the EU's security approach, and, finally, reflct on how European policy can have an impact on the local security situation in the future.

The relationship between Central Asia's states and their societies is an increasingly vital determinant of regional insecurity. During the past decade, the traditionally secular populations' frustration with their secular governments has increased considerably - and with it, their responsiveness to alternative, Islamic, forms of social and political organization. If it goes unheeded, this state of affairs may eventually undermine the international community's security- and state-building efforts in Afghanistan. Set against this background and in consideration of the region's growing linkages with its eastern neighbor, this analysis intends to shed light upon the role of China in Central Asia's state-society relations, to discuss its impact on this post-Soviet region's growing insecurity, and finally, to forge a link between China's neighborhood policy and the security of the greater Central Asian region after 2014.