Black knight as a strategic choice? Causes and modes of Russia's support to the authoritarianism in Southern Caucasus

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Natalizia
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Strategic Choice ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Regional Trend ◽  
Multiparty Systems ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Southern Caucasus ◽  
External Dimension ◽  
Diachronic Analysis ◽  
Post Soviet Space

AbstractDespite recurring elections and the transition to multiparty systems, authoritarianism has re-emerged in the Post-Soviet Space. Along with domestic factors, the external dimension should also be considered to fully understand this regional trend. Scholars depict Russia as a typical ‘black knight’ for democracy. While most of the literature deals with the Kremlin's policies in the ‘new’ Eastern Europe, this article pays attention to Russia's actions in the relatively understudied Southern Caucasus. Specifically, it investigates why and how Moscow tried to thwart democratization in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The diachronic analysis addresses three periods, namely, Yeltsin's presidency, the first Putin presidency and the Putin–Medvedev diarchy. Findings suggest that the Kremlin implemented an increasingly nuanced and intentional black knight strategy in Southern Caucasus, aimed at gaining primacy in the Post-Soviet Space and recognition of its great power status.

scholarly journals Trade-offs and inconsistencies of the Russian foreign policy: The case of Eurasia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-56
Author(s):  
Irina Busygina ◽  
Mikhail Filippov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Russian Foreign Policy ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Ukrainian Crisis ◽  
Vladimir Putin ◽  
Former Soviet Republics ◽  
Post Soviet Space

In this article, we explore the inherent trade-offs and inconsistencies of Russia’s policies toward the post-Soviet space. We argue that attempts to rebuild an image of Russia as a “great power” have actually led to a reduction of Russian influence in the post-Soviet region. The more Russia acted as a “Great Power,” the less credible was its promise to respect the national sovereignty of the former Soviet republics. In 2011, Vladimir Putin declared that during his next term as president, his goal would be to establish a powerful supra-national Eurasian Union capable of becoming one of the poles in a multipolar world. However, Russia’s attempt to force Ukraine to join the Eurasian Union provoked the 2014 crisis. The Ukrainian crisis has de-facto completed the separation of Ukraine and Russia and made successful post-Soviet re-integration around Russia improbable.

scholarly journals DYNAMICS OF UKRAINIAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS DURING OBAMA'S ADMINISTRATION (2014-2016)

2021 ◽  
pp. 107-122
Author(s):  
V. O. Pashkov
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
The United States ◽  
Strategic Partnership ◽  
Military Assistance ◽  
Political Dialogue ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The article analyzes the dynamics, interests of the parties, priority areas of cooperation and contradictions of Ukrainian-American relations in the post-Maid period, reveals the reasons for supporting Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression from the United States. The influence of the Revolution of Dignity on the geopolitical interests of the United States in Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet space is determined. It was determined that in 2014-2016. bilateral relations between Ukraine and the United States in terms of summit meetings and diplomatic support have reached their highest development in the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. At the same time, they lacked practical content - specific projects and common interests. The American strategy for Ukraine provided for limited military assistance and diplomatic containment of the Russian Federation in order to maintain the balance of power in the region. Six areas were identified that formed the bilateral agenda - military-technical cooperation, political dialogue, support for reforms, the fight against corruption, energy, support for democratic institutions. The main directions of cooperation, projects and problems within each of these areas are disclosed in detail. In the context of the formation of "strategic friendship" after 2014, the parties demonstrated different diplomatic rhetoric. Ukrainian politicians emphasized the importance of strategic partnership between countries, military assistance, and American representatives put the need for economic reforms and the fight against corruption in the first place, pushing Ukrainian leaders to take appropriate action. It was concluded that US-Ukrainian relations at this stage were more reminiscent not of a strategic partnership, but of patronage, where Kiev, as a clientele, sought protection from Russian aggression, and the United States saw the support of the pro-Western regime in Kiev as an opportunity to strengthen its positions in Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet space.

scholarly journals From “Greater Europe” to “Greater Eurasia”: Status concerns and the evolution of Russia’s approach to alignment and regional integration

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-99
Author(s):  
Andrej Krickovic ◽  
Igor Pellicciari
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Great Power ◽  
The West ◽  
Arduous Task ◽  
The Status ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Emerging Powers ◽  
Post Soviet Space

Russia’s approach to alignment and regional integration has evolved dramatically—from a focus on the West and disinterest and neglect of regional integration in the 1990s, to vigorous efforts to reintegrate the post-Soviet space under Russian leadership in the period between 2009 and 2014, to forming a “Greater Eurasia” that transcends the post-Soviet space and includes China and other non-Western powers (such as Turkey, India, and Iran) today. Status concerns are key to understanding this evolution in policy and vision as a declining Russia struggles to avoid losing great power status. Russia initially eschewed its relationships with post-Soviet states in favor of integration with Europe and the West, which seemed to offer greater status gains. When Russia failed to find a place in the Western liberal order and “Greater Europe” commensurate with its status aspirations, it shifted its attention to regional integration of the post-Soviet space, believing this would make Russia, in the words of President Putin, “one of the poles in a future multipolar world.” However, integrating the post-Soviet space proved to be an arduous task (that failed miserably in Ukraine) and did not yield the status gains Russia hoped for. The scope of Eurasian integration has now shifted to the formation of a “Greater Eurasia,” as Russia looks to gain status through its association with more dynamic rising and emerging powers.

Trends of Regional Integration on the Post-Soviet Space: Results of Quantitative Analysis

2010 ◽  
pp. 94-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Vinokurov ◽  
A. Libman
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Market Integration ◽  
Trade Integration ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Small Countries ◽  
Economic Interaction ◽  
Leading Position ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The paper applies a new dataset of the System of Indicators of Eurasian Integration to evaluate the changes of level and direction of economic interaction of the post-Soviet states in the last decade. It analyzes the integration dynamics in the area of trade and migration as well as on three functional markets of agricultural goods, electricity and educational services. The paper concludes that the level of trade integration on the post-Soviet space continues declining, while there is a rapid increase of the labor market integration. Three largest countries of the Eurasian Economic Community - Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan - demonstrate positive integration dynamics, but small countries maintain the leading position in the area of post-Soviet integration.

THE CONCEPT OF THE BALTIC-BLACK SEA ARC AND UKRAINIAN FOREIGN POLICY (1990 - EARLY 2000)

2020 ◽  
pp. 89-108
Author(s):  
Alexandr S. Levchenkov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Caspian Region ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Eastern Baltic ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The article analyzes the influence of the concepts of the Intermarium and the Baltic-Black Sea Arc on the formation of Ukraine’s foreign policy in 1990 – early 2000. The use of these concepts in American, European and Ukrainian geopolitical thought, which historically included the idea of opposing Russian influence in the region, contributed to the increase in tension and was aimed at further disintegration of the Western flank of the post-Soviet space. The article proves that the design of the Euro-Atlantic vector of Ukraine’s foreign policy was already active under the first two Ukrainian presidents – Leonid Kravchuk (1991–1994) and Leonid Kuchma (1994–2005). One of the concrete attempts to implement the idea of forming a common political, economic, transport and logistics space of the Black Sea-Caspian region with a promising expansion of the cooperation zone to the whole of Eastern Europe and the Eastern Baltic during the presidency of Leonid Kuchma was the foundation and launch of a new regional organization, Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, better known as GUAM (composed by the initial letters of names of member states – Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova; when Uzbekistan was also a member of Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, the name of the organization was GUUAM), which is an alternative to Eurasian projects with the participation of Russia.

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