The Intersection of Great Powers and Local Populism in Eurasia

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Russia and China are both contributors to and targets of local populism in Eurasia. Moscow has actively worked to promote local populism within Russia and the Russian near abroad. The Kremlin's efforts to stir populism at home and abroad yield concrete advantages. Domestically, militant Islam and anti-immigrant narratives help buttress President Putin's autocratic rule and contribute to the formation of a new, post-Soviet Russian national identity. Internationally Russia's promotion of local populism helps shore up Moscow's position relative to other regional and global powers. Moscow's articulation of shared conservative values resonate with Eurasian populations wary of the 'Western agenda' -- democracy promotion, gender equality, and secularism.

China, unlike Russia, is the focus rather than an instigator of Eurasian populism. China's economic presence in Eurasia has grown rapidly. With the rollout of Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, China's economic influence across Eurasia will continue to grow in the coming years. Beijing's investments, however, have thus far been viewed with skepticism. Anti-Chinese sentiments are high, particularly in Central Asia. Narratives of Chinese designs on Eurasian land, corrupt business and infrastructure ventures with greedy Central Asian political elites, and ill-treatment of Central Asian minorities are widespread across the region. Oddly, while similar narratives could equally be applied to Russian state actors, Moscow has yet to confront anti-Russian populism in Central Asia.

Our panel explores this variation. We investigate the drivers of Russia's comparative success in promoting self-serving populism at home and abroad and why China, despite its considerable economic investments in the region, is a target of Eurasian populism. Lastly, we explore the durability of the current Eurasian populism. Russia is a great power that, economically, is in decline. China's economic ambitions and its real economic presence, in contrast, is growing across Eurasia. Might populations once receptive to the idea of conservative and distinctly post-Soviet Eurasian values turn against this narrative as China and, with it, an integrated global economy makes increasing inroads into the region?

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 13: The Politics of Communist and Former Communist Countries

Individual Presentations

• Dangerous Migrants? Linkages between Migration, Crime, and Terrorism in Russia - Mariya Y. Omelicheva, National War College

• Disruptive Ends, Asymmetric Ways, Few Means: Russian Grand Strategy on the Cheap - Robert Person, United States Military Academy

• Populism & Soft Power: Russia, US, & the Rise of Conservative Values in Eurasia - Dylan Royce, The George Washington University; Marlene Laruelle, George Washington University

• Chinese Investment and Anti-Chinese Sentiment in Eurasia - Eric McGlinchey, George Mason University; Wendy Chen

Chair

• Regine A. Spector University of Massachusetts

Discussant

• Erik Martinez Kuhonta McGill University