Beyond dualism: EU policy toward Central Asia through decarbonization, problem linkage, and civil society engagement

Abstract

Despite the large reappraisal of the EU's security and economic interests in Central Asia, its foreign policy impact has remained weak. This article develops a constructivist, multi-level framework to examine how European and Chinese approaches to decarbonization are translated into policy in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. I argue that the EU and China advance fundamentally different conceptions of decarbonization, yet neither approach determines outcomes directly. Rather, domestic civil society organizations, policymakers, and local institutions selectively appropriate, reinterpret, and contest these competing ideas in light of local developmental priorities. The article advances the concept of problem linkage, arguing that the EU's effectiveness depends on its ability to connect decarbonization with broader developmental, distributional, and social priorities that matter to Central Asian governments and civil society, rather than treating climate action as a stand-alone policy objective. By bringing everyday political economy into the study of climate diplomacy, the article demonstrates that decarbonization is not simply exported by major powers but co-produced through interactions between their priorities and local agency.