The Eurasian Customs Union: framing the analysis

The formation of the Eurasian Economic Union: How successful is the Russian regional hegemony?

“…Some western authors analyse Eurasian integration with reference to liberal theories (Connolly, 2014;Cooper, 2013;Dragneva & Wolczuk, 2014;Malle, 2013;Olcott, 2005). From these perspectives, Eurasian regionalism is not a product of Russian hegemonic ambitions but a "tendency for states to form regional groupings" in order to receive protection from the negative impacts of globalisation by institutionalising relationships (Dragneva & Wolczuk, 2014, p. 1).…”

“…From these perspectives, Eurasian regionalism is not a product of Russian hegemonic ambitions but a "tendency for states to form regional groupings" in order to receive protection from the negative impacts of globalisation by institutionalising relationships (Dragneva & Wolczuk, 2014, p. 1). Russian-led Eurasian integration aims at developing a regime in which uncertainty, transaction costs and market failures will be minimised (Dragneva & Wolczuk, 2014). The regional "hegemon" exists, not as a rival, but rather as a leader, attracting neighbouring states into closer cooperation.…”

“…Their approach, however, is not state-centred, and includes a functional dimension of state-society relations, where domestic interest groups and representation matter. The authors suggest that the EAEU cannot be viewed solely through the prism of Russia's hegemonic ambition in the region, as such a narrow focus fails to consider external "political, economic, administrative and international challenges" or to capture the role of other member states in the development of regional integration projects (Dragneva & Wolczuk, 2014, p. 7).…”

Eastern Partnership vs Eurasian Union? The EU–Russia Competition in the Shared Neighbourhood and the Ukraine Crisis

“…Ukraine's membership was obviously a key objective for Moscow and the recent developments in the country ought to be read in this background. Notwithstanding the legitimate scepticism as regards its viability and chances of success (see below), experts describe the ECU as an ambitious attempt on the part of Moscow to build a ‘modern, rule‐based institutional framework in bringing economic benefits’ (Dragneva and Wolczuk, , p. 2). Thus the actual scope, content and objectives of this initiative – which remains understudied – deserve closer scrutiny to be able to assess its implications for the region, for Russia and for the EU.…”

“…mainly in a secretive formats between the Russian and Armenian presidents and on the basis of trade‐offs between Moscow's desire to see Armenia join the EEU and Yerevan's demand for security guarantees from Moscow (Delcour, ), have been putting strain on the economic and multilateral nature of the project, as might also the recent attempt by Russia, following the Ukrainian crisis, to turn the EEU into a foreign policy tool. Finally, an even more acute issue relates to the domestic implementation of what is eminently a top‐down initiative and to the question of whether, in light of the region's Rule of Law record and practices, member states will fully abide by the rules they set for themselves (Dragneva and Wolczuk, , p. 5). The interests, preferences and reform capacity of domestic actors will be determinants in this regard.…”