The Republic of Kazakhstan’s Public Diplomacy: Main Features and Prospects

The article aims to create a comprehensive view of Kazakhstan’s public diplomacy among the readership. It concludes that this phenomenon originated in the first decades of the existence of the Kazakh Khanate. At a time when the Kazakh lands were part of the Russian Empire and the USSR, the Kazakh people had no opportunity to pursue an independent foreign policy, the only element of which was public diplomacy. The revival of national public diplomacy became possible after Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991. For the last three decades, the main objective of Kazakhstan’s public diplomacy has been to create a positive international image of a newly independent Kazakhstani State and help its economy attract foreign investments. Such guidelines were designed to make favorable conditions for ensuring the socio-economic development of the country and the implementation of its foreign policy goals. Nowadays, Kazakhstan’s public diplomacy has three dimensions: political, economic and cultural, the main one of which is political. In the foreseeable future, Astana will remain interested in the active use of public diplomacy tools, in strengthening its status as one of the world’s best masters in this field.