Eurasianist Trends in Russian Foreign Policy: A Critical Analysi

This paper examines and illustrates the presence of a powerful Eurasianist doctrine currently informing Russian foreign policy. It first presents the historical evolution of Eurasianism, its most recent incarnation present in contemporary Russia, and later seeks to explicate its development. The emergence of this particular doctrine was the result of a gradual process that began in 2000 when Vladimir Putin first became President of the Russian Federation although its historical roots are traced back to the 19th century. Over the course of the past decade a new brand of Eurasianism has emerged which this study identifies as 'Geopolitical Eurasianism'. Various external and internal factors have led to the rise of this paradigm which now dominates the formulation and implementation of Russian foreign policy. Ultimately Geopolitical Eurasianism is shown to be the principle doctrine guiding Russian foreign policy over the past decade and demonstrates that Russia will most likely continue on this current trajectory.