THE APPLICABILITY OF LATIN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE TO KAZAKHSTAN’S CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION WITH CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

Cross-border cooperation can play a significant role in the context of Central Asian integration. When analyzing international experience in cross-border cooperation, close attention should be paid not only to the advanced but quite specific experience of the EU, but also to the experience of other regions that are closer in their characteristics to Central Asian conditions. In this regard, the experience of cross-border cooperation among the 18 continental countries of Central and South America holds considerable theoretical and practical value. The goal of this study is to analyze this experience in comparison with Kazakhstan's cooperation with Central Asian countries. This paper examines aspects of Latin American experience such as efforts to develop cross-border cooperation within regional integration frameworks, bilateral and multilateral intergovernmental initiatives, issues of financing, the role of regional authorities and non-governmental organizations, and a general overview of the successes and failures of Latin American cross-border cooperation. The concluding sections compare the conditions for such cooperation in Latin America and along Kazakhstan's southern borders, and outline lessons from Latin American experience for Kazakhstan's cross-border cooperation, taking into account both the achievements and the failures. Methodologically, the research relies on comparative and systems analysis: comparisons are made at both the intra-regional (Latin America) and inter-regional (Latin America and southern Kazakhstan) levels, viewing the Latin American border regions as a system with key components such as environment, actors, cooperation projects, and financing. The study concludes that an analysis of both the achievements and the failures of Latin American countries can be important for optimizing Kazakhstan's cross-border cooperation. The author suggests that Kazakhstan should first and foremost carefully study the experience of mobilizing financing for cross-border infrastructure development projects and border regions, organizing cross-border environmental projects with the involvement of foreign donors, and establishing bilateral border service centers for joint efforts to eliminate barriers to cross-border communication. At the same time, Kazakhstan and its neighboring countries should consider how to make cross-border cooperation more resilient than in Latin America to potential unfavorable changes in the political climate at the governmental level in bilateral relations.