Abstract:
Introduction. Since 2022 Kazakhstan has noticeably intensified cooperation with China, Turkey,
and the US in higher education, providing their universities with favorable conditions for opening branches and
implementing scholarship programs to recruit Kazakhstani applicants. The research novelty is the assessment of
current Kazakhstani educational cooperation as a tool for balancing Russian influence in Kazakhstan and Central
Asia in general. The choice of partner countries is justified by a noticeable recent expansion of their presence in
Kazakhstan’s higher education. Methods and materials. The research is based on the analysis of Kazakhstani
official documents; speeches and statements by the officials of Kazakhstan, China, Turkey, and the US; the
activities of foreign universities in Kazakhstan, reflected primarily in the functioning of foreign branches and interuniversity contacts; and statistical data characterizing the situation in Kazakhstan’s higher education system.
The research theoretical basis is provided by the concept of soft balancing and higher education internationalization.
Analysis. The authors established the rationales behind intensifying Kazakhstan’s cooperation in higher education
with particular foreign partners, namely China, Turkey, and the US; determined the scale and formats of such
educational cooperation; and indicated intermediate results of this policy. Results. A forecast for the development
of higher education in Kazakhstan was developed and recommendations were formulated for Russia on educational
cooperation with Kazakhstan. Authors’ contribution. E.F. Troitskiy provided the concept of the article, theoretical
and literature review. A.M. Pogorelskaya analyzed the educational cooperation between Kazakhstan and its foreign
partners. G.S. Mussina compiled a forecast for higher education development in Kazakhstan and elaborated the
recommendations. Funding. The research was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, Project
№ 23-78-10036 “Transformation of higher education systems in Central Asia: new opportunities and challenges for
Russian educational export”, https://rscf.ru/en/project/23-78-10036/.
