Russian Geopolitics in the Twenty First Century: Foreign Policy, Nationalism, and the Role of Neo-Eurasianism in the Emerging World Order

Abstract

Russia’s Neo-Eurasianism challenges the existing hierarchy in the international order with wider implications for the United States as the leading Atlanticist opposition. Ranging from its Cultural Exceptionalism and messianic identity to the comprehensive geopolitical discourse, Neo-Eurasianism encourages Putin’s Russia towards a renewed mission of the Eurasian Integration. This is evident by Russia’s emerging alliances, its adventures against Georgia and Ukraine, and the restructuring of regional institutions. The Fourth Political Theory as an alternative to the discarded Liberalism as the dead-end of modernity, its geopolitical model peddles Russia towards geopolitical settlement across Eurasia to emerge as the dominant Eurasian pole. Such settlements in Eastern Europe, the Persian Gulf and East Asia is complemented by the weakening American commitment to the three geopolitical hotspots which results not only in America's global retreat but also in a world with no global centre of gravity. The research paper examines the relevance of Dugin’s geopolitical model in the contemporary geopolitical environment across Eurasia. It addresses the geopolitical discourse and limitations of Eurasianism, Russia’s New Nationalism its changing geopolitical behaviour across the Eurasian supercontinent. It also highlights the consequences of Neo-Eurasianism for the Atlanticist pre-eminence across Eurasia, and its impact over the nature of the emerging word order.