러시아ㆍ유라시아

Along with the institutional context, some key ‘non-institutional’ and ‘domestic’ factors should be taken into account when analyzing the foreign policy formation of the Central Asian states. This study examines the influence of non-institutional domestic factors over foreign policy formations and explores via comparative analysis how they have impacted the different paths in the foreign policies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan since these states gained independence. This article focuses on three factors—the political leader’s personality under the imperial presidency, sub-national identity, and the role of ideology—to reveal how these non-institutional variables have differentiated the two countries’ foreign policies. This study finds that Presidents Nazarbayev and Karimov, as top decision makers, have been the core sources in foreign policy formations—their perceptions and sensitivities to situations and understanding of national interests have resulted in different diplomatic paths: ‘multi-vectored and open’ and ‘preventive and conservative’ diplomacy, respectively. Second, sub-national identity is, albeit informal and segmented, considered as influential in narrowing down each president’s choices during foreign policy formation. The sub-national powers found in Kazakhstan were ethnically and regionally divided, while those in Uzbekistan were based on three regions and rigid. Third, in terms of ideology, ‘de-Sovietization’ has played a dominant role. While Uzbekistan had had to distance itself from Russia due to strong ‘Uzbek nationalism’, Kazakhstan with its considerable Russian population was not able to promote radical ‘Kazakhization’