The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), officially established in 1996, is an inter-regional forum consisting of the 15 member states of the European Union and the European Commission, 7 member of the 10 states of ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea. In this important volume academics from Asia and Europe examine the level of engagement between both continents and highlight how the ASEM process has been conducive in enhancing the political, economic and cultural ties between the various Asian and ...

Was Russia truly an empire respectful of the differences among its constituent parts or was it a unitary state seeking to create complete homogeneity?

The two decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union brought great changes to the new nations on its periphery. This text offers a detailed ethnographic look at one area of change - the use and understanding of public space in the region's cities.

The integration of the Eurasian Economic Union has been under constant development as officials try to successfully implement new economic policies within its various regions. Introducing a new policy such as this creates the formation of new markets, the improvement of cooperation initiatives, as well as a new legislative base and supplementations. These continual alterations require updated analysis and research for political leaders to follow regarding provincial incorporation methods. Regional Integration and Future Cooperation Initiatives in the Eurasian Economic Union is an essential reference source that discusses the conceptual and empirical frameworks of the current phase of Eurasian integration as well as its economic impact. Featuring research on topics such as multilateral cooperation, free trade, and international views, this book is ideally designed for politicians, economists, strategists, public relations specialists, research scholars, policymakers, students, and academicians seeking coverage on regional integration issues in modern Eurasia.

Heartlands of Eurasia explores how received metageographical knowledge informs the understanding of global processes and is subsequently transformed into geopolitical reasoning with foreign policy implications. It provides a detailed examination of writings, from both within the region and outside, that look into the significance of Halford Mackinder's heritage in the context of a vastly changed world situation. In particular, it attempts to examine how policy makers and strategic thinkers have used these geopolitical concepts as justification for their policy in the region. Finally, it attempts an analysis of the extent to which this policy thinking was translated into practice. While the study looks into how the vision of the 'pivotal' significance of a vast expanse of land finds its echoes in contemporary narratives, it also underlines the very creative ways in which Mackinder's ideas have been reinterpreted in keeping with the changing global dynamics. Making use of the way in which the region has been traditionally defined and the way in which the people defined themselves, the study brings into focus a debate on the usefulness of region or 'area'-based studies that are located in geographical imaginations. Anita Sengupta uses this connection to examine the following issues: geopolitical imaginations and their relevance in identifying 'areas' in the present context; the intersection between how areas are defined from an outsider perspective and how people define themselves; the extent to which these definitions have influenced policy; and the possibility or feasibility of the development of alternative geostrategic discourses. Mackinder himself did not specify the geographical area identified first as the 'pivot' and later the 'heartland,' but his ideas were focused on the 'closed heartland of Euro-Asia,' an area that was unassailable by sea power. This study therefore centers its debates around the Eurasian space in general, though the focus is on the Central Asian region and Uzbekistan in particular. The book is ideal for specialists working on the Eurasian region, graduate students interested in geopolitics as well as Eurasian and Central Asian studies, and undergraduates studying political science and international relations.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, is a new but substantial regional organization. Significant achievements include a common external customs tariff, a customs union and a common labour market: a well-developed institutional environment has emerged to support and advance these processes, ranging from the Eurasian Economic Commission and the EAEU Court to the Eurasian Development Bank and the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development. This major integration achievement also has several drawbacks and ‘stumbling stones’—some due to Russia’s dominant position, some due to the authoritarian nature of political regimes, and some due to dependence on oil and gas exports. This book presents a detailed qualitative and quantitative assessment of the Eurasian Economic Union, including the history of Eurasian integration, the macroeconomy of EAEU member states, an assessment of trade and investment links, a descriptive analysis of the EAEU Treaty, an analysis of Eurasian institutions, the sociology of integration, the EAEU’s emerging foreign economic policy, relations with the EU and China, the EAEU’s position on One Belt One Road policies, and its mid-term policy agenda. This primer text will be of interest and value for students, academics and practitioners working in economic policy and business communities and interested in the history and development of the Eurasian Economic Union.

In this well-researched and detailed book, the editors provide an extensive and critical analysis of post-Soviet regional integration. After almost two decades of unfulfilled integration promises, a new _ improved and functioning _ regime emerged in th