Political Economy of the Eurasian Integration

The Eurasian Economic Union, launched in 2015, is often seen with suspicion for ostensible domination by the Kremlin over those former Soviet republics that seek various benefits from reestablishing close links with Russia. Yet the very idea of intergovernmental integration implies that Russian influence can no longer be applied directly but has to be channeled through supranational institutions. In the context of globalization the Eurasian project can also be seen as an attempt to boost economic competitiveness of its members by reorienting the region from inherently unstable resource-based models into more sustainable ones, based on vibrant domestic industries. In practice, however, the EAEU has not yet demonstrated much economically, especially as far as mutual trade and investment are concerned, and after the recent resignation of the Kazakhstan's president Nursultan Nazarbaev as one of its earliest and most influential enthusiasts, there may also be political challenges to the very survival of the project.