The paper analyses the peculiarities of the Russian Federation’s foreign policy towards the so-ca... more The paper analyses the peculiarities of the Russian Federation’s foreign policy towards the so-called post-soviet countries. It focuses on Russia’s policies towards Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, and the South Caucasus, with specific attention on how a complexity of foreign policy players, diverse available tools, and geopolitical as well as ideational, economic, and cultural interests are combined into a coherent strategy. The paper argues that despite common strategic goals – geopolitical security and Great Power identity – the interests of powerful domestic players hinder the creation of a consistent and long-term plan for how to achieve strategic goals. The domestic institutional logic of Russia as a Limited Access Order (LAO) creates significant obstacles for long-term planning and makes Russian policy in the post-soviet space tactical rather than strategic. The existing patterns of asymmetrical economic, political, and cultural interdependence of neighbouring countries with Russia...
In discussing relations between post-Soviet countries, interdependence, and dependence on Russia ... more In discussing relations between post-Soviet countries, interdependence, and dependence on Russia in particular, is often portrayed as a natural inevitability. What this ignores, however, is that interdependence can be created and perpetuated by policy itself. It is the outcome of a political game where a range of interests is involved, resulting in a set of governance arrangements or regimes. Understanding this dynamic has important implications for the effectiveness of the European Union’s engagement in the region. This paper examines what regimes interdependence between Russia and its neighbours (Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine) are embedded in, but also how these arrangements affect interdependence in their own right. The focus here is on formal international agreements between these countries, but also on less institutionalized interactions and transactional dealings governing relations across four sectors of notable interdependence: trade, migration, energy and security. The secto...
Ukraine Between the EU and Russia: The Integration Challenge, 2015
The dramatic events in Ukraine in February 2014 resulted in the collapse of Yanukovych’s regime a... more The dramatic events in Ukraine in February 2014 resulted in the collapse of Yanukovych’s regime and a change of government. One of the first steps of the new leadership was to assert the pro-European course. These events, however, triggered a backlash from Russia. This chapter focuses on its military and political dimensions. Russia’s response directly sought to fundamentally weaken Ukraine’s resolve to persist with the European choice by re-drawing Ukrainian statehood. Russia’s actions also sought to expose the limits of the EU’s readiness to support Ukraine during this period, and in particular its search for a political settlement in the face of Russia’s armed suasion. This chapter will explore the contours of these events with a view to understanding Russia’s strategy.
The book examines the legal regime for protection of company shareholders in the CIS. The focus i... more The book examines the legal regime for protection of company shareholders in the CIS. The focus is on important aspects of domestic legal reform in the twelve CIS countries, but also on the contribution of CIS model legislation to this process.
The process of authoritarian regionalism, where illiberal or similarly restrictive governments un... more The process of authoritarian regionalism, where illiberal or similarly restrictive governments undertake a process of economic integration amongst each other, has emerged in the past two decades as a rival to existing liberal multilateral organisations. Emblematic of this approach is the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU), a grouping of post-Soviet states which has borrowed heavily from the experience of the EU but has set itself up as an alternative form of regionalism. Using the concept of institutional resilience, this article shows how the EaEU has been buffeted by three major shocks that have reduced its attractiveness as a viable development alternative to the West. Crises of economic integration, regional security, and, above all, of domestic stability have exposed the reality that the EaEU may be highly susceptible to shocks and, as a result, is less attractive as an alternative developmental model.
Over the last decade the EU faced numerous calls to engage with the Customs Union between Russia,... more Over the last decade the EU faced numerous calls to engage with the Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan set up in 2010 and its successor, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), found in 2015. While proponents differ in terms of their justification and desired scope of cooperation, they share the view that it should take place on a region-to-region basis, thus representing an important departure from the EU's approach to the post-Soviet countries. The EU's reluctance to embark on such a course so far has been attributed to the political crisis of EU-Russia relations, especially in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine. In this context, for some, a mega-deal contains not just the promise of economic cooperation and connectivity, but also represents the means to improve relations with Russia and restore peace and stability in Europe. This paper argues that while these are worthy objectives, the utility of a region-to-region engag...
One of the challenges to EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) policy relates to structuring cooperation... more One of the challenges to EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) policy relates to structuring cooperation with countries that have opted for membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), such as Belarus and Armenia, while avoiding the problems faced in the Ukraine crisis of 2013-2014. Acting on its revised European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU has sought to develop differentiated and flexible tools of engagement with the EaP countries, including a new type of agreement with Armenia, the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Delivering on this agenda, however, requires clarity on the constraints and limits imposed by membership in the EAEU. The EU has tended to establish such limits by reliance on the technocratic analysis of current obligations contained in formal legal agreements. Yet, as revealed by the Ukraine crisis, this approach has not necessarily reflected the geopolitical realities in the region and Russia’s view of integration and its compatibility with EU’s...
Most authors and policy makers agree on the necessity to carry out large-scale privatization as a... more Most authors and policy makers agree on the necessity to carry out large-scale privatization as a main mechanism for private sector development in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The implementation of the privatization policy, however, requires making choices with huge economic, political and social implications, such as: how to privatize by sale or by free distribution; who should be the new owners the incumbent managers and employees, the general population, or business entities, what should the balance between foreign and domestic buyers be, etc. Each of these alternatives has its relative advantages or disadvantages both from the point of view of general economic theory and of the economic and political reality in individual countries.
Palgrave Advances in Bioeconomy: Economics and Policies, 2021
This chapter examines the role of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in Russia’s agricultural foo... more This chapter examines the role of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in Russia’s agricultural food trade. The discussion focuses on four of the most important areas affecting agri-food trade, namely the food safety regime, the effects of Russia’s food import ban, the agenda for agricultural cooperation, and the external free trade agreements of the bloc. The analysis identifies the critical role of structural factors in the build-up of obstacles to trade, including the weak common regime and its inability to constrain unilateral actions at the cost of integration. The chapter concludes that despite some recognition of the issues, fundamental changes are unlikely.
The paper analyses the peculiarities of the Russian Federation’s foreign policy towards the so-ca... more The paper analyses the peculiarities of the Russian Federation’s foreign policy towards the so-called post-soviet countries. It focuses on Russia’s policies towards Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, and the South Caucasus, with specific attention on how a complexity of foreign policy players, diverse available tools, and geopolitical as well as ideational, economic, and cultural interests are combined into a coherent strategy. The paper argues that despite common strategic goals – geopolitical security and Great Power identity – the interests of powerful domestic players hinder the creation of a consistent and long-term plan for how to achieve strategic goals. The domestic institutional logic of Russia as a Limited Access Order (LAO) creates significant obstacles for long-term planning and makes Russian policy in the post-soviet space tactical rather than strategic. The existing patterns of asymmetrical economic, political, and cultural interdependence of neighbouring countries with Russia...
In discussing relations between post-Soviet countries, interdependence, and dependence on Russia ... more In discussing relations between post-Soviet countries, interdependence, and dependence on Russia in particular, is often portrayed as a natural inevitability. What this ignores, however, is that interdependence can be created and perpetuated by policy itself. It is the outcome of a political game where a range of interests is involved, resulting in a set of governance arrangements or regimes. Understanding this dynamic has important implications for the effectiveness of the European Union’s engagement in the region. This paper examines what regimes interdependence between Russia and its neighbours (Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine) are embedded in, but also how these arrangements affect interdependence in their own right. The focus here is on formal international agreements between these countries, but also on less institutionalized interactions and transactional dealings governing relations across four sectors of notable interdependence: trade, migration, energy and security. The secto...
Ukraine Between the EU and Russia: The Integration Challenge, 2015
The dramatic events in Ukraine in February 2014 resulted in the collapse of Yanukovych’s regime a... more The dramatic events in Ukraine in February 2014 resulted in the collapse of Yanukovych’s regime and a change of government. One of the first steps of the new leadership was to assert the pro-European course. These events, however, triggered a backlash from Russia. This chapter focuses on its military and political dimensions. Russia’s response directly sought to fundamentally weaken Ukraine’s resolve to persist with the European choice by re-drawing Ukrainian statehood. Russia’s actions also sought to expose the limits of the EU’s readiness to support Ukraine during this period, and in particular its search for a political settlement in the face of Russia’s armed suasion. This chapter will explore the contours of these events with a view to understanding Russia’s strategy.
The book examines the legal regime for protection of company shareholders in the CIS. The focus i... more The book examines the legal regime for protection of company shareholders in the CIS. The focus is on important aspects of domestic legal reform in the twelve CIS countries, but also on the contribution of CIS model legislation to this process.
The process of authoritarian regionalism, where illiberal or similarly restrictive governments un... more The process of authoritarian regionalism, where illiberal or similarly restrictive governments undertake a process of economic integration amongst each other, has emerged in the past two decades as a rival to existing liberal multilateral organisations. Emblematic of this approach is the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU), a grouping of post-Soviet states which has borrowed heavily from the experience of the EU but has set itself up as an alternative form of regionalism. Using the concept of institutional resilience, this article shows how the EaEU has been buffeted by three major shocks that have reduced its attractiveness as a viable development alternative to the West. Crises of economic integration, regional security, and, above all, of domestic stability have exposed the reality that the EaEU may be highly susceptible to shocks and, as a result, is less attractive as an alternative developmental model.
Over the last decade the EU faced numerous calls to engage with the Customs Union between Russia,... more Over the last decade the EU faced numerous calls to engage with the Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan set up in 2010 and its successor, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), found in 2015. While proponents differ in terms of their justification and desired scope of cooperation, they share the view that it should take place on a region-to-region basis, thus representing an important departure from the EU's approach to the post-Soviet countries. The EU's reluctance to embark on such a course so far has been attributed to the political crisis of EU-Russia relations, especially in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine. In this context, for some, a mega-deal contains not just the promise of economic cooperation and connectivity, but also represents the means to improve relations with Russia and restore peace and stability in Europe. This paper argues that while these are worthy objectives, the utility of a region-to-region engag...
One of the challenges to EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) policy relates to structuring cooperation... more One of the challenges to EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) policy relates to structuring cooperation with countries that have opted for membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), such as Belarus and Armenia, while avoiding the problems faced in the Ukraine crisis of 2013-2014. Acting on its revised European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU has sought to develop differentiated and flexible tools of engagement with the EaP countries, including a new type of agreement with Armenia, the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Delivering on this agenda, however, requires clarity on the constraints and limits imposed by membership in the EAEU. The EU has tended to establish such limits by reliance on the technocratic analysis of current obligations contained in formal legal agreements. Yet, as revealed by the Ukraine crisis, this approach has not necessarily reflected the geopolitical realities in the region and Russia’s view of integration and its compatibility with EU’s...
Most authors and policy makers agree on the necessity to carry out large-scale privatization as a... more Most authors and policy makers agree on the necessity to carry out large-scale privatization as a main mechanism for private sector development in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The implementation of the privatization policy, however, requires making choices with huge economic, political and social implications, such as: how to privatize by sale or by free distribution; who should be the new owners the incumbent managers and employees, the general population, or business entities, what should the balance between foreign and domestic buyers be, etc. Each of these alternatives has its relative advantages or disadvantages both from the point of view of general economic theory and of the economic and political reality in individual countries.
Palgrave Advances in Bioeconomy: Economics and Policies, 2021
This chapter examines the role of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in Russia’s agricultural foo... more This chapter examines the role of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in Russia’s agricultural food trade. The discussion focuses on four of the most important areas affecting agri-food trade, namely the food safety regime, the effects of Russia’s food import ban, the agenda for agricultural cooperation, and the external free trade agreements of the bloc. The analysis identifies the critical role of structural factors in the build-up of obstacles to trade, including the weak common regime and its inability to constrain unilateral actions at the cost of integration. The chapter concludes that despite some recognition of the issues, fundamental changes are unlikely.
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Papers by Rilka Dragneva