8 research outputs found
Russiaâs Eurasian past, present and future: rival international societies and Moscowâs place in the post-cold war world
The failure of post-Soviet Russia to integrate into the West became
evident with the 2014 Ukraine crisis, leading Moscow to accelerate
its declared âpivot to the Eastâ. However, the increased dependence
on China carries its own risks, such as the danger of becoming
Beijingâs junior partner. For an erstwhile superpower that
continues to declare and prize its autonomy in international
affairs, this is a particularly unappealing prospect. Thus, it remains
to be seen whether a genuinely balanced partnership can exist
between both countries. This article uses insights from Adam
Watsonâs pendulum theory to explore Russiaâs post-2014 Eurasian
predicament. We argue that the rapid rightward swing of the
pendulum in the Euro-Atlantic order following the end of the Cold
War has proven indigestible for Moscow. The article then moves
to discuss the Sino-Russian relationship in the context of the
emerging Eurasian space. It concludes that the growing
disillusionment of Russian leaders with the West since the 2000s,
along with the normative convergence between Moscow and
Beijing, has led to a closer partnership between the two. Yet the
partnership is also riddled with a number of insecurities on
Moscowâs side that could undermine the long-term prospects for
cooperation between Russia and China
The ârising powerâ status and the evolution of international order : conceptualising Russiaâs Syria policies
Taking Syriaâs armed conflict as a case study to illustrate processes of normative contestation in international relations, this paper is interested in re-examining the typology of Russia as a ârising powerâ to account for âriseâ in a non-material dimension. The article embeds the ârising powerâ label in the literature on international norm dynamics to reflect on the rationale for Russiaâs engagement in Syria despite adverse material preconditions. It will be argued that Russian norm divergence from alleged âWesternâ norms illustrates the ambition to co-define conditions for legitimate transgressions of state sovereignty