Mohammed Ayoob (ed.) and Murad Ismayilov (ed.) (Routledge- 2015- 224 Pages)
“The multicultural region of Central Eurasia is living through its early post-independence years and as such serves as an ideal case to study and analyze theories of identity and foreign policy in a non-European context. Looking to re-introduce identity as a multidimensional factor informing state behavior, this book analyses the experiences of the different Central Eurasian states in their post-independence pursuits.
The book is structured into two broadly defined sections, with the first half examining the different ways in which the combination of domestic, regional, international and trans-national forces worked to advance one national identity over the others in the states that comprise the region of post-Soviet Central Eurasia. In the second half, chapters analyze the many ways in which identity, once shaped, affected foreign policy behaviors of the regional states, as well as the overall security dynamics in the region. The book also looks at the ways in which identity, by doing so, enjoys an intricate, mutually constitutive relationship with the strategic context in which it bears its effects on the state and the region. Finally, given the special role Russia has historically played in defining the evolutionary trajectory of the regional states, the book discusses the ways in which Russia itself and its post-cold war policies towards its former colonies have been conditioned by factors associated with Russia’s evolving post-Soviet identity.
Indeed, by bringing identity back to the agenda in the study of regional security dynamics in post- Soviet Central Eurasia, the collection is meant to place the region firmly within the realm of existing theories of identity and state practices. Multicultural as it is and living through its early post- independence years, Central Eurasia serves as an ideal test case to study and analyze the workings of theories of identity and foreign policy in a non- European context. “
