Neo-Eurasianism in Russian Foreign Policy: Echoes from the Past or Compromise with the Future?

Abstract

With its growing geopolitical inclination, Russian foreign policy has beenconsidered as a resurgence of Eurasianism (Neo-Eurasianism).Notwithstanding its strong geopolitical sense, Eurasianism is multifacetedconcept. It is often associated with philosophical thinking, cultural andpolitical doctrines which changed over time and yet full of contradictions. Thisarticle seeks to find out the influence of Neo-Eurasianism in Russian foreignpolicy. Tracing back the idea of Eurasianism from historical perspective andemploying Graham Smith classification on school of Eurasianism, this articleargues that the rise of Neo-Eurasianism in Russia is driven by the needs todefine and strengthen the spheres of influences. It is mainly motivated byethnocentric sentiments to expand the sphere of influences across the border as a safeguard and protection. Neo-Eurasianism compromises building aforeign policy consensus based on political culture and national awareness.

Understanding the Dynamics of Conflict-cooperation Nexus in Turkey-Russia Relations: 2011-2016

“…In a similar vein to the 19th century intellectual movements, political debates in this period concentrated on the question of whether Russia should follow a Western developmental path or, instead, pursue its own unique characteristics outside the scope of the Western example. For the latter view, the main argument was gathered around the theme that Russia has unique historical and geographical features and these differences require Russian politicians to implement a different developmental path (Nugraha, 2018).…”

“…Burak TOPUZOGLU, Mehmet Akif OKUR For the neo-Slavophiles, the main endeavor was to struggle for reunification with Belarus and Ukraine. This view found its repercussions, particularly, in economic cooperation efforts in addition to attempts for the establishment of a customs union with these states (Nugraha, 2018).…”

Russia Beyond Indonesia: Image Transforming Effort Through Public Diplomacy

“…Kebijakan luar negeri Rusia yang mulai berfokus pada Asia merupakan salah satu bentuk seruan Neo-Eurasianisme yang diaplikasikan ke dalam kebijakan luar negeri Rusia. Selama ini, Putin juga disebut-sebut mulai mengaplikasikan Neo-Eurasianisme dalam dokumen Foreign Policy Concept of Russian Federation sejak tahun 2000 (Nugraha 2015). Selama pemerintahannya, dokumen tersebut mengalami beberapa kali perubahan, namun tidak semata-mata lepas dari Neo-Eurasianisme.…”