Multi-vector nature and geopolitics of sanctions: methodological lessons for Kazakhstan studies

Abstract

The modern international system is characterized by the intensification of sanctions practices, the politicization of economic interdependence, and the increasing importance of infrastructural and technological factors of power. These processes are forming a new configuration of geopolitical influence, in which traditional methodological approaches focused on spatial and territorial analysis and state-centered logic demonstrate limited explanatory power. In this regard, there is an increasing need to update analytical tools for studying the foreign policy of states with an average level of strength.

The purpose of the article is to identify the methodological limitations of classical approaches to the study of multi – vector foreign policy in the context of the geopolitics of sanctions and to formulate the grounds for their conceptual updating. The methodological basis of the research is an integrated approach that includes a comparative analysis of scientific concepts and a critical analysis of modern research discourse.

The scientific novelty of the work lies in the development of an analytical framework for vulnerability geopolitics, which makes it possible to shift the research focus from spatial control to structural nodes of dependence – financial, technological, infrastructural and institutional – through which foreign policy pressure is realized. In this logic, multi-vector approach is interpreted not only as a balancing strategy, but also as a risk management mechanism aimed at preventing a critical concentration of dependencies.

It is shown that the foreign policy autonomy of the middle Powers is relative and is determined by the ability to adapt to the sanctions fragmentation of the international system. The theoretical significance of the research lies in the expansion of the methodological tools of geopolitical research and the formation of more sensitive analytical optics for the study of multi-vector strategies.