Kazakhstan's Silk Way media as cultural diplomacy: a case study of Silk Way Star and transnational media governance

In an increasingly multipolar media environment, middle-power states are expanding the use of international broadcasting beyond conventional nation branding toward more structured forms of cultural diplomacy and regional coordination. This study examines Kazakhstan's Silk Way satellite channel and the inaugural Silk Way Star transnational music competition as a case of entertainment-centered international broadcasting across the Silk Road region. Drawing on a qualitative single-case study design, the analysis covers the completed 2025 broadcast season, including ten televised broadcasts (nine competitive rounds and a final episode), publicly available institutional materials, participant and jury composition, multilingual production features, scoring mechanisms, and distribution arrangements. The study integrates soft power theory, media governance scholarship, and research on international broadcasting to examine three analytical dimensions: institutional configuration, linguistic strategy, and format design. The findings indicate that Silk Way Star operates through a coordinated co-production framework involving twelve participating countries, a six-language broadcasting structure that combines accessibility with the visibility of the Kazakh language, and a hybrid jury–audience evaluation system that distributes cultural recognition across national participants. These structural features position Kazakhstan not solely as a content producer but as a coordinating actor within a transnational media architecture. Rather than demonstrating direct soft power outcomes, the study shows how entertainment formats may create institutional and symbolic conditions that support visibility and claims of cultural legitimacy within a regional media space. Limitations include reliance on publicly available materials and the absence of direct audience perception measures, suggesting the need for future work with audience analytics and comparative cases.