ABSTRACT
The foreign policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan is based on the strong desire for independent statehood, and its basic purpose is to keep and strengthen state sovereignty, integrity, and inviolability of borders. It is also to create favorable conditions for achieving economic and social progress. The foreign policy decision-making process in Kazakhstan is not yet regular and systematic. As part of the USSR, Kazakhstan was intensely involved in the nuclear confrontation between the two opposing military-political systems during the Cold War. After the dissolution of the USSR, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was created, first consisting of the three Slavic republics: Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Then the Central Asian states, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Moldova joined the CIS. Kazakhstan's foreign policy relations with the United States, Japan, and Europe, which can balance its relations with Russia and China in case they resort to expansionist and hegemonist policies in the region.
