Eurasian Integration: Challenges of Transcontinental Regionalism

The book examines the major economic and political transitions currently taking place in the Eurasian continent. Vinokurov and Libman provide a detailed account of various aspects of Eurasian integration, looking at both its bright side (trade, investments and joint infrastructure) and dark side (trafficking humans and drugs and the spread of diseases) and linking it to waves of «Eurasian exchanges» in the past. The authors explore how political reality adapts and shapes the changing networks of economic interconnections and delineate a concept of «pragmatic Eurasianism» necessary for understanding these linkages and sharply contrasting to the heavily ideological views of Eurasia that often dominate the political and social discussions. Two main perspectives are explored. One focuses on the political economy of Eurasian integration. Although economic interdependence between Eurasian countries is increasing, any formal or informal cross-border cooperation on the continent faces significant difficulties. The second perspective we take is more applied, concentrating on the specific industries in which trans-continental linkages exist and may exist in the future. It is argued that advancing towards continental Eurasian common markets, based on the development of common infrastructure, brings significant economic benefits.