Eurasian Integration - The View from Within

Description

As Eurasia and the adjacent territories become more important to the world, there is increasing interest from international powers, accompanied by attempts to give institutional form to traditional economic and security links within the region. This book includes a range of substantive work from scholars based in the region, offering contrasting perspectives on the process of Eurasian integration and its place in the world. Chapters consider economic, political, social and security developments, with notable studies of the major countries involved in the development of the Eurasian Economic Union. The work also examines the connections between the region and China, greater Asia and the European Union. It outlines the varying dynamics, with populations growing in Central Asia while at best stagnant elsewhere. The book discusses the increasing strategic significance of the region and explores how the new post-Soviet states are growing in national cohesion and political self-confidence. Above all, the book examines the concept of ’Eurasia’, outlining the debates about the concept and how various aspects of the legacy of ‘Eurasianism’ contribute to contemporary plans for integration. The book argues that although regional integration is very much a popular idea in our age, with the potential for economic benefits and increased international influence, in practice contemporary projects for Eurasian integration have been highly ambiguous and contested. Nevertheless, significant steps have been taken towards the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union. The book analyses developments to date, noting the achievements as well as the challenges. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of illustrations List of contributors Acknowledgements Maps Introduction: Eu–Ru–Asian integration? Eurasia from within The logic of the work and definition of terms New regionalism vs. new utopia Notes 1. Challenges of Eurasian integration Dynamics of contemporary regionalism The foundations of Eurasian regionalism Towards the Eurasian Union ‘Greater Europe’ and the clash of integrations The politics of Eurasian integration Conclusion Notes 2. Eurasianism as a ‘philosophy of nation’ Notes 3. Eurasianism as an idea, civilizational concept and integration challenge A contested concept Contemporary debates Achievements and problems Conclusion: global perspectives Notes 4. Eurasian economic union: achievements and prospects Eurasian integration: stages and institutions The economic impact of integration Growth potential Enlarging the core of Eurasian integration From regional integration to Greater Eurasia Notes 5. Russia and the Eurasian union Russia’s place in Eurasian integration The Russian concept of Eurasian integration Enhancing Russia’s appeal Conclusion Notes 6. Kazakhstan and Eurasian integration Notes 7. Belarus between the EU and Eurasian Economic Union At the crossroads The EU and Belarus: mission prevented? The EEU and Belarus: muddled beyond redemption? The public dimension Conclusion Notes References 8. Ukraine: between Europe and Eurasia Civilizational divides in Ukrainian society The Russian factor in Ukrainian society and politics The European factor in Ukrainian society and politics Ukraine’s European choice and/or Eurasian integration Debates about the choice between European and Eurasian integration The conflict between European and Eurasian integration models: public opinion Who is who in the pro-European and pro-Eurasian integration camps Notes 9. Ukraine: between Eurasia and Europe Economic and legal terms of Ukraine’s associate EU membership Why Ukraine and the Customs Union need each other Conclusion Notes 10. The EU and the Eurasian Economic Union: between partnership and threat? The EU as a global actor Towards an EU-EEU partnership? The Eurasian Economic Union as a rival to the EU? Conclusion Note References 11. Europeanization and the Eurasian Economic Union Europeanization through the CU at the country level Limitations Summary Outlook Notes References 12. Central Asia: from peripherality to centrality Central Asia: foreign trade and economic integration The financial aspect of cooperation and integration in Central Asia Prospects for regional integration in Central Asia Notes 13. Eurasian perspectives on regionalism: Central Asia and beyond Geopolitical pluralism in post-Soviet Central Asia and Eurasian integration Dilemmas of Eurasian integration for Moscow Eurasianism in the context of Russia’s foreign policy The American and Chinese ‘silk road’ projects as geopolitical alternatives to Eurasian integration Notes References 14. Turkey: rising power or emerging dream? Introduction Ideologies of Eurasianism in Turkey and narratives on Turkey’s role in Eurasia Turkey’s policies towards the Black Sea sub-region of Eurasia Turkey’s policies towards the Central Asian sub-region of Eurasia Responses of regional and global actors to Turkey’s initiatives in Eurasia Conclusion Notes References 15. The historic development of Eurasia’s regional structure Historical patterns Periodization Patterns of modernization The era of globalization The globalization of globalization Conclusion Notes 16. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, China and Eurasian integration Eurasian integration and the SCO: a missing link? The SCO and CES: tales of two integrating mechanisms China going West: too little for Beijing, too much for Moscow? Russia as part of China’s westward strategy SCO and CES: beyond the ‘competition and cooperation’ mix Conclusion: Putin and Xi for the next decade Notes 17. The Eurasian moment in global politics: a comparative analysis of great power strategies for regional integration Introduction Imagining Eurasia Different understandings of Eurasian integration The potential integration of China and Eurasia Conclusion Acknowledgement Notes 18. Eurasia: the burden of responsibility From East to West The not entirely Eurasian Union The still Eurasian Union Russia’s self-determination A new structure for globalization Notes Index