Abstract
This article introduces the special issue by going beyond the traditional debates about geopolitics and great power rivalry. Instead, it examines the emergent and highly complex world of Central Eurasia, in its transformative effort to reorder itself in response to both global and local change. In particular, the paper (and the volume) focuses on two interrelated themes: one of a changing Russia, that is anxiously trying to adapt to the uncertain dynamics within and beyond the wider Eurasian space; and the other—of an emerging complexity of new order-making regional (integration) initiatives that are poised to reshape the future of international and global order. The overarching intention of this paper and the volume is to advance the need to focus on ‘the local’, to gain a more holistic understanding of the present-day challenges and the kind of global response needed to stay attuned to the increasingly complex world.
Highlights
Introduction to special issue of InternationalPoliticsThe years since the onset of the Ukraine crisis have seen Russia’s increasing effort to deepen its strategic partnership with China and accelerate its declared ‘pivot to the East’: As Viacheslav Nikonov, Duma parliamentarian and a founder of Russkiy Mir, poignantly noted, Europe was only mentioned once at the 2019 International Economic Forum in St Petersburg.1 These developments follow a quarter-century of rising disputes between Russia and the West that were characterized by a nominal commitment to construct some sort of ‘Greater Europe’ from Lisbon to Vladivostok rooted in common economic, political, security and cultural spaces
The paper focuses on two interrelated themes: one of a changing Russia, that is anxiously trying to adapt to the uncertain dynamics within and beyond the wider Eurasian space; and the other—of an emerging complexity of new order-making regional initiatives that are poised to reshape the future of international and global order
The Euromaidan protests saw Ukraine caught between two competing deals and regulatory orders—put forward respectively by the European Union (EU) and the fledgling Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)—that were not reconciled
Summary
The years since the onset of the Ukraine crisis have seen Russia’s increasing effort to deepen its strategic partnership with China and accelerate its declared ‘pivot to the East’: As Viacheslav Nikonov, Duma parliamentarian and a founder of Russkiy Mir, poignantly noted, Europe was only mentioned once at the 2019 International Economic Forum in St Petersburg. These developments follow a quarter-century of rising disputes between Russia and the West that were characterized by a nominal commitment to construct some sort of ‘Greater Europe’ from Lisbon to Vladivostok rooted in common economic, political, security and cultural spaces. Much of the future of global affairs will be determined by events in the ‘Indo-Pacific’ or Asia–Pacific or African regions, the confluence of the emergent indigenous players in Central Eurasia—all of which are in transition in various ways—on issues such as transport, institutions, security, culture, religion and the philosophy of being (hamsoya, meaning life in the shadow of your neighbour)—that comes to designate this region as a composition of smaller entities forming a system of a rising collective ‘player’, with many voices, aiming to affect the supercontinent-wide and global equilibrium It is in this locality that many contributions of the volume view Central Eurasia—as a region roughly spanning Belarus in the west, Afghanistan in the south, and Mongolia in the east—an immensely rich space, a configuration of domestic politics, and intra- and inter-regional dynamics, presently contested by the EU, Russia and China, that comes to set its own voice and ordering arrangements. These questions are of conceptual interest, as they shed light on how processes of change affecting an international order can—perhaps counterintuitively—indicate elements of its robustness, durability and strength
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
