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Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet space has undergone a drastic geopolitical change. The US as the global hegemonic power and China as the rising great power both have strived to expand their influence in this region, while Russia has endeavored to maintain its erstwhile status in its sphere of influence. In response to this great power competition, the Central Asian states have strategically selected their course between band-wagoning and balancing. This paper examines the foreign policy of the Central Asian states, especially focusing on their orientation toward Russia between band-wagoning and balancing, for the period of 2000-2010. More importantly, the factors that influence the states foreign policy patterns and variations are explored. This article consists of two sections. The first identifies the patterns and variations of each Central Asian state’s orientation toward Russia between band-wagoning and balancing. In order to assess the actual foreign policy orientation, each state’s security and socio-economic relationships with Russia are all considered. The second section then examines the correlation between each state’s response to Russia and internal factors, which are often underestimated in the previous studies,such as political, economic, and social dynamics. The findings challenge both democratic peace theory and the common idea that more democratized and market economy-oriented countries tend to tilt toward the West and balance against Russia,providing implications for the understanding of the geopolitics in the Central Asia as a post-Soviet sub-region.
