LINKING NATIONAL ROLE CONCEPTIONS TO FOREIGN POLICY BEHAVIOR: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF KAZAKHSTAN AND UZBEKISTAN
Journal: Journal of Central Asian Studies
Year: 2025

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, two pivotal Central Asian states with broadly similar geopolitical contexts, have pursued markedly different foreign policy trajectories since independence. This article asks whether leadership‑defined national role conceptions (NRCs) - the self‑ascribed roles articulated in elite discourse - help explain these divergences under comparable structural conditions. Grounded in Role Theory and Foreign Policy Analysis, the study treats NRCs as mid‑range, intervening framewo