#022 - Mapping Eurasia: Russia's Geopolitics

What does “Eurasia” mean for understanding Russia?

Michael Kimmage is joined by Ayşe Zarakol of Cambridge University and Alexander Cooley of Barnard College to explore the historical, political, and geopolitical meanings of Eurasia and what they reveal about Russia’s place within it.

Zarakol considers Russia through the history and shared legacies of Eurasia’s steppe empires, while cautioning against defining Russia exclusively as Eurasian and overlooking its European heritage and political agency. Cooley traces the changing meaning of Eurasia in foreign policy, particularly since the end of the Cold War and amid shifting approaches to Western influence and regional integration.

Together, they explore how competing ideas of Eurasia have shaped understandings of Russia and the geopolitical configurations surrounding it.

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