Hardly visible, highly admired? Youth perceptions of the EU in Kazakhstan

Arynov Zhanibek 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2022 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.13 No.1

Youth have always been one of the central target audiences of the European Union’s (EU) policies towards Central Asia, which was once again emphasised in the recent EU Strategy for the region. This paper scrutinises how youth representatives in Kazakhstan, Brussels’ closest partner in the region, perceive the EU and its policies. By doing so, the paper shifts the focus from the EU-centric assessment of its external activities, which has long dominated the academic literature, and provides a ‘voice’ to the targets of the EU’s various initiatives. Examining data obtained through the method of pictorial test and focus group discussions with students of leading Kazakhstani universities, the paper argues that the issue Brussels faces among youth is not an image problem, rather it is a visibility issue. Although Kazakhstani youth are aware of the EU’s main ‘attributes’ at the basic level, they have little knowledge that goes beyond stereotypical, yet positive, images of it. This stereotyped admiration towards the EU, however, is not necessarily an outcome of Brussels’ successful policies, rather it is partly inherited from the historically idealised image of Europe. The paper suggests that increasing its visibility and better communicating its policies and messages need to be a priority for the EU in Central Asia.

The pawn of great powers: The East–West competition for Caucasia

Ronald Grigor Suny 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2010 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.1 No.1

My argument in this paper is that Caucasia has become an area of contention, like much of post-Soviet Eurasia, between the East and West, particularly between Russia's Caucasian policy, which revolves around its long-term interest in re-establishing its regional hegemony in the so-called Near Abroad, and the United States' grander ambition for global hegemony. The South Caucasus has provided the first opportunity for Russia to demonstrate its will to prevent the United States, NATO, and the European Community from penetrating the southern tier of the former USSR. Russia's move is not a program of imperial control, but rather a determined effort to contain or even roll back the influence of other powers, most importantly, the United States and NATO in the regions closest to Russia's borders. The “southern tier” of the former Soviet Union – Caucasia and Central Asia – contains the most vulnerable regions in which other powers might intervene, and it is here where Russia will test its new policies. Up until August 2008 it used primarily “soft power” vigorously to prevent other powers from increasing their influence in the region. In August it demonstrated it was prepared, when pushed, to use “hard power.” The Russo–Georgian War was a watershed in East–West relations with a more assertive Russia willing to take on its more powerful competitors.

Aqyn agha? Abai Zholy as socialist realism and as literary history

Gabriel McGuire 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2018 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.9 No.1

In Mukhtar Auezov's 1942 novel Abai Zholy, socialism is an end anticipated not just by history but more specifically by Kazakh literary history. In his earlier scholarly writings, Auezov had presented Abai as a transformational figure in the emergence of written Kazakh literature. In the novel, Abai becomes not only a literary innovator but also a political reformist: Auezov's Abai is horrified by the harsh and feudalistic behavior of his father Qunanbai, a wealthy local leader, and finds companionship and inspiration in his encounters with a series of famous 19th century Kazakh aqyns (bards). Auezov thus used Abai Zholy to argue that Kazakh folk literature had always been animated by a spirit of social critique which, in its laments and desires, had anticipated the Soviet world. This paper compares these aqyns' depiction in the novel first with Auezov's earlier scholarship on the 19th century and second with the content of the aqyns' own surviving works. These ideas reflected both contemporaneous shifts in Soviet nationalities policy and the influence of socialist realist literary models, which commonly staged both literary history and generational conflicts as allegories of political change.

Ukraine's revolution of dignity: The dynamics of Euromaidan

Yuriy Shveda,Joung Ho Park 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2016 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.7 No.1

This paper analyzes the civil revolution in Ukraine, which is also known as the Euromaidan Revolution. It is regarded as the Revolution of Dignity by Ukrainian citizens. In this respect, this paper focuses on a clarification of the dynamics of the Ukrainian civil revolution. The authors will try to trace the essential causes, processes, and historical implications of the Euromaidan Revolution. In addition, we plan to assess the nature of civil revolution. This study not only was based on the primary sources in Ukrainian language but also was described from the perspective of the participants of the revolution.

To decentralize or to continue on the centralization track: The cases of authoritarian regimes in Russia and Kazakhstan

Irina Busygina,Mikhail Filippov,Elmira Taukebaeva 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2018 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.9 No.1

Decisions on decentralization versus centralization come as a result of strategic choices made by politicians after weighing their costs and benefits. In authoritarian regimes, the highest-priority political task is that of restraining political competition and securing power in the hands of the incumbent. This task incentivizes politicians to restrict political decentralization (or at least block reforms promoting such decentralization). At the same time, external economic pressures (e.g. globalization) place the task of national competitiveness in the global markets on the agenda, and increase incentives for fiscal and administrative decentralization. Thus, political and economic pressures create contradicting incentives, and in weighing costs and benefits, politicians in different authoritarian regimes make different choices that lead to variation in the form, degree and success of decentralization/centralization policies. In this article we compare authoritarian decentralization in Russia and Kazakhstan.

The concept of “Greater Eurasia”: The Russian “turn to the East” and its consequences for the European Union from the geopolitical angle of analysis

Glaser (Kukartseva) Marina,Thomann Pierre-Emmanuel 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2022 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.13 No.1

This article examines the Russian project of Greater Eurasia, the reasons for launching such an initiative, and its possible influence on the current regional and global trends in the field of geopolitics, security policy, and relations between Russia and the European Union. The article argues that Greater Eurasia, as a developing geo-economic and geostrategic community, opens up opportunities for Russia and the European project to reset their relationship by creating new zones of mutual development.

Russia's defense spending and the economic decline

Susanne Oxenstierna 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2016 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.7 No.1

The purpose of this article is to explore the development of Russian military spending in light of weak and negative growth of the Russian economy and to look at the reasons for the economic decline that has developed after the economic crisis in 2009 and is due to long-term internal structural factors that have existed since the mid-2000s. The confidence crisis resulting from Russia's aggression against Ukraine 2014, Western sanctions and falling oil prices has further aggravated these tendencies and the economy is now contracting. The main conclusions are that the share of the defense budget in GDP has risen substantially, but there is still a trade-off between defense and other public spending in the budget. Political reform would be necessary to implement market institutions and revive the economy.

Central Asia and Japan: Bilateral and multilateral relations

Mirzokhid Rakhimov 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2014 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.5 No.1

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1991s Central Asian nations and Japan established diplomatic relations and partnership began to increase steadily as manifested by the level of official contacts. In 1997 the “Silk Road” Diplomacy concept was formulated for Japan's policy toward Central Asia. In the beginning of 21st century we see activization of new actors including India, Korea and Japan in Central Asia, which were mainly welcomed in the region. Tokyo recognized the growing strategic importance of Central Asia in the context of international security and sought to play a more active role as an Asian nation in Eurasia. During two decades Central Asian nations and Japan partnership began to increase steadily. Japan is one of the largest assistants to Central Asia in structural reforms and Japanese investments to the different aspects of region economy and transport communication add up to several billions. There are several areas of special interest to Japan in its relations with Central Asia, including cooperation in education, economic development of the region, political reforms, as well as energy resources. Japan's effort in creating the “Central Asia plus Japan” dialog is part of its multilateral diplomacy. At the same time there are some challenges and problems in Central Asia–Japan relations. However, there are potentialities for future bilateral and multilateral relations. Japan like Korea, India and other countries has a strong positive image in Central Asia, which could be regarded as an additional factor for fostering partnership of Central and East Asia as well as interregional relation with the vast Asian continent and beyond.

Post-crisis Belarus: Marxism and the lender of last resort

Heather Bell,Robin Bell 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2015 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.6 No.2

Existing literature has examined the predictions and proscriptions of Karl Marx in response to the 2008 global financial crisis. However, the suggestions put forth by the Marxist-leaning literature never took hold and state-level banking and finance policies have remained largely unchanged. While many criticisms of Marxism exist, this paper examines Belarus, a ‘neo-communist’ or ‘market-socialist’ state, to provide a new perspective on the continuation of capitalism in the United States and Europe. In the case of Belarus, the International Monetary Fund and the Eurasian Economic Community's Anti-Crisis Fund provided both the critical liquidity needed to temporarily quell the effects of the financial crisis. Their demands meant that Belarus agreed to speed its move away from the Soviet-era finance and banking policies and more towards its western capitalist neighbors. Its failure to implement these policies further hurt its recovery. Examining Belarus' path to and out of its financial crisis makes apparent that the role of the international lender of last resort (LOLR). The LOLR acts as a key element in protecting states embroiled in the financial crisis from facing the possibility of making the difficult policy changes put forth by the Marxist literature. By ignoring its promises under the loan conditions from its LOLRs, Belarus moved further from the recovery promised by the Marxist suggestions.

“우크라이나 -루시의 역사(Istoriia Ukraïny-Rusy)” 미하일 흐루쉐프스끼(Mykhailo Hrushevsky)

구자정 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2010 중소연구 Vol.33 No.4