PONARS Eurasia
  • About
    • Contact
    • List of Members
  • Policy Memos
    • List of Policy Memos
  • Podcast
  • Online Academy
  • Events
    • Past Events
  • Recommended
Contacts
Address 1957 E St NW, Washington, DC 20052 adminponars@gwu.edu 202.994.5915
NEWSLETTER
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Podcast
PONARS Eurasia
PONARS Eurasia
  • About
    • Contact
    • List of Members
  • Policy Memos
    • List of Policy Memos
  • Podcast
  • Online Academy
  • Events
    • Past Events
  • Recommended
DIGITAL RESOURCES
digital resources

Bookstore 📚

Knowledge Hub

Course Syllabi

Point & Counterpoint

Policy Perspectives

RECOMMENDED
  • Russians supported Putin’s moves in Crimea in 2014. Here’s what’s different in 2021

    View
  • Putin’s Rules of the Game: The Pitfalls of Russia’s New Constitution

    View
  • In the Caucasus, There Is a Peace Agreement but Not Peace

    View
  • Russia’s Niche Soft Power: Sources, Targets and Channels of Influence

    View
  • A Weak Link in NATO? Bulgaria, Russia, and the Lure of Espionage

    View
RSS PONARS Eurasia Podcast
  • Music and Politics in Contemporary Russia [Lipman Series 2021] April 12, 2021
    In this week's PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Alexander Gorbachev about the dynamic music scene in contemporary Russia, and how free Russian musicians are to make political statements.
  • How is the Russian Government Coping with Rising Food Prices? [Lipman Series 2021] March 15, 2021
    In this week's PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Anton Tabakh about rising food prices in Russia, and what they might mean for Russia's current and future stability.
  • The Communist Party of the Russian Federation: More Than Just Systemic Opposition? [Lipman Series 2021] March 5, 2021
    In this week's episode of the PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Felix Light and Nikolay Petrov about the contemporary Communist Party of the Russian Federation, including the divisions between its leadership and membership, its attitude toward Alexei Navalny, and why it might be more than just "systemic" opposition after all.
  • Internet Resources: Civic Communication and State Surveillance [Lipman Series 2021] February 16, 2021
    In this week's PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Andrei Soldatov and Tanya Lokot about the role of the internet in contemporary Russian politics, including both as a tool of the Russian opposition and as an instrument of the increasingly repressive Russian regime.
  • The Rise of Alexei Navalny's Political Stature and Mass Protest in Russia [Lipman Series 2021] February 1, 2021
    In the first PONARS Eurasia Podcast of 2021, Maria Lipman chats with Greg Yudin about the current protests taking place in Russia, and what Alexei Navalny's growing popular support means for the Putin regime.
  • Russian Social Policy in the COVID-19 Era [Lipman Series 2020] December 21, 2020
    In 2020’s final episode of the PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Sarah Wilson Sokhey and Ella Paneyakh to discuss Russian social policy in the COVID-19 era, and public perception of Russia’s overall pandemic response.
  • Conscious Parenting Practices in Contemporary Russia [Lipman Series 2020] December 10, 2020
    In this week's episode of the PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Julia Yuzbasheva and Maria Danilova to learn more about the proliferation of "conscious parenting" practices in contemporary Russian society.
  • The Transformation of Belarussian Society [Lipman Series 2020] November 11, 2020
    In this episode of the PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Masha Lipman chats with Grigory Ioffe about the long-term and short-term factors that led up to the current protests in Belarus, and the ongoing transformation of Belarussian society.
  • Russian Lawmakers Adjust National Legislation to the Revised Constitutional Framework [Lipman Series 2020] October 26, 2020
    In this week’s PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Ben Noble and Nikolay Petrov about ongoing changes to Russia’s national legislation based on the recently revised constitutional framework, and what these changes portend for the 2021 Duma election.
  • Russia's Regional Elections [Lipman Series 2020] September 25, 2020
    In this week’s PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Graeme Robertson and Konstantin Gaaze about Russia’s September 13 regional elections and whether or not the Kremlin should be worried about upcoming Duma elections.
  • Policy Perspectives
  • Recommended | Рекомендуем

New PONARS Eurasia Volume: The Vilnius Moment

  • March 11, 2014
  • PONARS Eurasia

This collection of policy papers is based on the proceedings of a December 2013 workshop of the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS Eurasia), held in collaboration with the European Institute of Political Studies in Moldova (EIPSM). The workshop, “The Future of the EU-Russia Neighborhood,” centered on the development of EU relations with its Eastern neighbors in the aftermath of the November 28-29 Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius.

At the time, no one could have foreseen the momentous developments that were to take place in Ukraine in the aftermath of the Vilnius Summit. At the workshop, we explored the significance of the association agreements that Moldova and Georgia initialed with the EU. We grappled with the Ukrainian decision to postpone the signing of its association agreement and the rapid rise of the Euromaidan movement. We assessed the future of EU and Russian relations with other Eastern Partnership states, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus, and sought to understand how a heavily technocratic series of agreements had given rise to such acute geopolitical competition. The persistence and transformation of the Euromaidan movement, the heavy-handed reaction of Ukrainian authorities, the tragic violence and sudden collapse of the regime, and, finally, the Russian intervention in Crimea—all still lay ahead.      

This volume includes 13 policy memos originally prepared for the workshop. Most of these were published online from December 2013 to March 2014 and are reprinted here in original or mildly revised form. Four memos by Eiki Berg, Ludmila Coada, Tamar Khuntsaria, and Yuriy Matsiyevsky are new to the volume.

Part I addresses EU and Russian policy toward the “common neighborhood” and EU-Russian relations. Eiki Berg, Andrey Makarychev, and Andrey Devyatkov assess the rise of EU-Russian competition in the region and the unintended emergence of the EU as a geopolitical actor. Yulia Nikitina assesses the negative impact geopolitical competition has on states in the region and argues that the EU and Russia should focus more on “regional empowerment” than on integration and dependence in either direction. Serghei Golunov examines the pitfalls and possibilities of an underappreciated aspect of cross-border cooperation across EU and Russian borders – the “grey trade” in consumer goods between the Baltic States, Poland, and Russia.

Part II focuses on Moldova and Georgia. Ludmila Coada and Tamar Khuntsaria discuss the accomplishments of these Eastern Partnership “frontrunners” while exploring the economic and social challenges that lay ahead. George Gavrilis analyzes the political economy of Moldova’s Transnistrian conflict and cautions against assuming that Moldova’s closer association with the EU will inevitably resolve the longstanding dispute.

Part III centers on Ukraine. Olexiy Haran and Maria Zolkina chart Ukraine’s zigzag path toward European integration and argue that Ukraine’s divided population is not as much of an obstacle to a westward course as it might seem. Yuriy Matsiyevsky assesses the ways in which a competitive authoritarian regime might have evolved if Viktor Yanukovych had stayed in power, as well as the causes for the regime’s demise and the challenges Ukraine faces in consolidating its democracy.

Part IV investigates the foreign policies of other Eastern Partnership states and the ways in which “client” states can influence patrons. Sergey Minasyan and Anar Valiyev explore the nuances of Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign policies toward the EU and Russia and argue that both states are likely to continue trying to navigate a middle course. Arkady Moshes analyzes an economic spat that was the latest episode in the love-hate relationship between Belarus and Russia, concluding that Russian fears of “losing” Eastern Europe have given Minsk disproportionate leverage over Moscow. Finally, Scott Radnitz explores the use of lobbying in Western capitals by Azerbaijan and Georgia as a balance against the greater political heft of international and domestic opponents.

View PDF

See the volume's website page

View recent Policy Memos

 

PONARS Eurasia
+ posts
  • PONARS Eurasia
    https://www.ponarseurasia.org/members/ponars-eurasia/
    PONARS Eurasia Online Academy: Grassroots Nationalist Movements in Russia
  • PONARS Eurasia
    https://www.ponarseurasia.org/members/ponars-eurasia/
    New Book: Is Russia Fascist? Unraveling Propaganda East and West
  • PONARS Eurasia
    https://www.ponarseurasia.org/members/ponars-eurasia/
    PONARS Eurasia Online Academy: Russia’s Policy in the Arctic
  • PONARS Eurasia
    https://www.ponarseurasia.org/members/ponars-eurasia/
    Podvig: The value of New START is largely that it keeps the lines of communication open and it is the place for dialogue
Related Topics
  • Moldova
  • Policy Perspectives
  • Vilnius
Previous Article
  • In the News | Hовости

Gorenburg: War Would Create Long-Term Instability on Russia’s Immediate Border

  • March 11, 2014
  • PONARS Eurasia
View
Next Article
  • In the News | Hовости

Hale, Hanson: Training Russia Specialists

  • March 12, 2014
  • Henry Hale
View
You May Also Like
View
  • Recommended | Рекомендуем

Russians supported Putin’s moves in Crimea in 2014. Here’s what’s different in 2021

  • Timothy Frye
  • April 13, 2021
View
  • Recommended | Рекомендуем

Putin’s Rules of the Game: The Pitfalls of Russia’s New Constitution

  • Brian Taylor
  • April 12, 2021
View
  • Recommended | Рекомендуем

In the Caucasus, There Is a Peace Agreement but Not Peace

  • Georgi Derluguian
  • April 10, 2021
View
  • Recommended | Рекомендуем

Russia’s Niche Soft Power: Sources, Targets and Channels of Influence

  • Marlene Laruelle
  • April 8, 2021
View
  • Recommended | Рекомендуем

A Weak Link in NATO? Bulgaria, Russia, and the Lure of Espionage

  • Mark Kramer
  • April 6, 2021
View
  • Recommended | Рекомендуем

Russia’s Weak Strongman: The Perilous Bargains That Keep Putin in Power

  • Timothy Frye
  • April 5, 2021
View
  • Recommended | Рекомендуем

Special Issue: Russia’s 2020 Constitutional Reform: The Politics of Institutionalizing the Status-Quo

  • Regina Smyth and William E. Pomeranz
  • April 2, 2021
View
  • Recommended | Рекомендуем

PONARS Eurasia Online Academy: Grassroots Nationalist Movements in Russia

  • PONARS Eurasia
  • March 26, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

PONARS Eurasia
  • About
  • Membership
  • Policy Memos
  • Recommended
  • Events

Permissions & Citation Guidelines

Input your search keywords and press Enter.