Geopolitical Imaginaries in Russian foreign policy: The evolution of “Greater Eurasia”

Abstract

Russian foreign policy thinkers have used a succession of geopolitical visions to articulate a Russian role and identity in the post-Cold War era. Ideas such as ‘Greater Europe’, the ‘Russian World’, and ‘Eurasia’ all construct different roles and promote different foreign policy orientations for Russia in the international order. Since 2016 speeches by senior Russian officials have also included references to “Greater Eurasia”, a concept that is not new, but has been reinvigorated through its articulation by members of the Valdai Club and other foreign policy centres. This article explores the evolution of this geopolitical imaginary, and deconstructs its ideological and geopolitical content. In particular, the “Greater Eurasia” discourse provides a new role for Russia in international affairs, in a close relationship with China, but also makes far-reaching claims about the nature of an emerging, post-liberal world order. The article concludes with an analysis of the main challenges to the “Greater Eurasia” project, and the consequences of the practice of thinking about foreign policy primarily in terms of metanarratives and spatial imaginaries