Navigating geopolitical and economic challenges: The integration paths of Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan

The growing geopolitical and economic challenges within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) require a theoretically grounded analysis of how member states adapt to asymmetric regional integration. This article compares the integration paths of Kazakhstan, Armenia, and the Kyrgyz Republic and examines their implications for national economic development. The study applies comparative analysis, document analysis, economic-indicator assessment, and systemic and structural approaches. The conceptual framework combines institutional theories of economic integration, asymmetric interdependence, and strategic adaptation, viewing the EAEU as both a market institution and a geopolitical arena where states seek benefits while managing dependency risks. The findings reveal different adaptation strategies: Kazakhstan uses integration to expand trade, investment, transport, and energy connectivity; Armenia focuses on infrastructure development, market access, and diversification; and the Kyrgyz Republic prioritises legislative harmonisation, labour mobility, investment attraction, logistics improvement. Between 2014 and 2024, Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased from USD 221.4 billion to USD 280 billion, while Kyrgyz FDI from selected EAEU partners rose from USD 80 million in 2019 to USD 260 million in 2023. Armenia’s trade with EAEU countries also expanded. The article concludes that EAEU integration produces uneven but significant effects shaped by national structures, institutional capacity, and external pressures.