This book examines Russia’s emergence after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its creation of a security architecture in the post-Soviet space. Many scholars argue that Russia is a coercive power in the region that forces states to act in only its own interests. While acknowledging Russia’s power this author argues that it is not able to merely force states to behave as it wants them to. Instead, Russia must use bilateral and multilateral cooperation to develop a security architecture that provides order, stability and predictable behavior for both Russia as the hegemon and the weaker powers in the region. By building this security architecture, Russia and the other states in the post-Soviet space are better able to achieve their strategic goals and provide for their own security. To achieve this, weaker states are able to press for certain concessions from Russia regarding how to structure bilateral relations as well as multilateral organizations. While Western politicians have argued that Russia has tried to reestablish the Soviet Union through coercive means, the reality is much more of a nuanced interaction among all of the states in the region, which ensures state sovereignty while allowing the weaker states to pursue their own interests. Using network analysis, this author shows how the regional structural architecture of cooperation was built and indicate how Russia is able to achieve order. This book also shows that there is a lack of order where states have refused to cooperate in building the structural architecture, which has led to conflict and territorial disputes.

The crisis of Northern capitalism and failure of hegemonic global governance have created a facilitative environment for post-hegemonic initiatives promoting South–South cooperation. Major Southern countries – especially the BRICS – have taken the lead in pushing for alternative governance mechanisms that are strongly articulated in the areas of economic, financial, cultural, and defense cooperation. This book focuses on the historical, political-economic, and geopolitical context in which major Southern countries implement a post-hegemonic agenda. Providing a global and comprehensive perspective through a series of focused case studies from Europe, Latin America, Eurasia, and Africa, the author develops a new approach to the multipolarization of world politics based on "global hegemony". Highly recommended for scholars, students, and activists involved in global political economy, regionalism studies, and international development, this book will be of interest to anyone seeking to develop their understanding of world politics and South–South cooperation.

This volume argues that contemporary political and security revisionism should not be considered a homogenous attack against the international order but rather a bag of tailor-made strategies to exploit opportunities found in various, highly localised contexts. Scholars with backgrounds in Security Studies, Area Studies, International Relations and Political Theory are brought to examine revisionist tendencies in Central Eastern Europe, Post-Soviet Space, China and the Transatlantic Space. In doing so, they try to remedy the existing disciplinary separatism, or ‘policing’, which has obfuscated any theorisation of the connections between international and domestic politics for many decades. Part of the analytical focus is on novel phenomena, especially the utilization of cyberspace and new social media and technological innovation. One of the conclusions of this volume is that the rise in contemporary revisionism shows the oft-forgotten importance of the first image of international politics: political leaders, in other words, do indeed matter. The fact that they matter is only reinforced when they represent regional or even great powers, and especially revisionist regimes and states with the propensity to produce complex effects. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Europe-Asia Studies.

In accordance with the notion that “identity” is absolutely central to ontological and discursive practices, this volume explores a multiplicity of “ways of being”, including the adoption of an ethnic position, the enactment of gender, the conception of childhood and artistic visions of urban life in addition to other pivotal modes of existence. Beyond discourses of identity featured in the first section of this work, “ways of performing” identity in literature are brought to light in the second half through studies into, for instance, the roles of enunciator and reader, the depiction of villainy and the portrayal of rebellious victimhood. Integrating research from Great Britain, Bulgaria, Iraq, Japan, Romania, Spain and Ukraine, this collection of fifteen chapters offers innovative and inspiring insights from a comparative stance into the complex dynamics and parameters which govern the construction of “identity” in cultural and literary space.

The Making of Eurasia investigates the multi-layered spectrum of China and Russia's Eurasian policies towards each other, ranging from competition to cooperation, as well as the role of regional actors in between. The book examines the impact of and responses to the dynamic Sino-Russian interaction in the wake of China's Belt and Road initiative, focusing on the selected case studies of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan, but also on inter-regional implications across the Eurasian space. With China's imprint on inter-regional politics and ambition to make a distinctive Chinese contribution to 'globalization' and Russia's vision of a 'Greater Eurasia' in which Moscow stakes out a place for itself as an indispensable power, other regional actors adopt policies that respond to and co-shape the resulting centrifugal forces. Meanwhile, power shifts are underway on a global plane, as the normative divide between Russia and the West has widened, and as the Sino-American rivalry is intensifying. The book therefore also sheds light on the effects of Eurasian power shifts on global governance in a context where global 'leadership' is contested, and in which the US and Europe are re-defining their relationship not only towards a self-confident China but also towards each other. As such, this study will provide valuable insight for students and scholars of Eurasian Asia Studies, Foreign Policy Analysis, and International Relations at large.

Modern trends in geopolitics have raised serious questions about the future global and regional architecture of the world system. In the case of the Eurasian Economic Union, these questions bring up important issues for debate: What is the Eurasian Economic Union? What theoretical concepts could be applied for modern Eurasian integration? Why is the Eurasian Economic Union forming? Most importantly, what prospects does this Union have in the framework of the modern geopolitical situation? This book explores the process of Eurasian integration in the modern global world. The creation of the Eurasian Economic Union has become a topical issue in modern Russian foreign policy. Neo-Eurasianist ideas can be viewed as a geopolitical basis and rationale for the Eurasian Economic Union that may constitute an integrational structure, consolidating the post-Soviet area and neighboring regions. This book argues that Eurasia is a region representing an organic integrity due to close mentality, common and centuries-long history, common language of international communication, a multitude of economic ties, and an identical level of technological development across all countries within the post-Soviet area. Yet, advancement of the Eurasian integration idea into practical implementation should have new objective suppositions as well. These are defined by the contemporary economic, political, and ethno-cultural processes in the post-Soviet space.

The concept of nation building is a multi-dimensional process, addressing various components simultaneously. It takes into account the various historical and geographical perspectives of the country in question, noting the peculiarities and diversity of its cultural ethos, including its social, economic and political structures. This volume addresses these inter-linked aspects, and the innovative development of these structures and institutions. However, such changes and development must be directed to create a more culturally homogenous and productive society, so that basic human needs like food, shelter, healthcare and education are fulfilled at the optimum level. All-round development and growth for the nation can be achieved only with a robust economy and political stability. As such, the process of nation building and development is a multifaceted phenomenon. In the context of India, this process is associated with the central values embodied in the preamble of the country’s constitution, which advocates for the establishment of secular, socialist and democratic society based on well-defined fundamental rights. This anthology reflects these academic spirits and vistas.