Expanding Eurasia: Russia's European Ambitions

by Janusz Bugajski

Moscow's overarching ambition toward Europe is to expand the "Eurasian space" in which Russia is the dominant political player. For Moscow, "Eurasianism" involves two interconnected transforming Europe into an appendage of the Russian sphere of influence and debilitating Euro-Atlanticism by undercutting Europe's connections with the United States. The most effective and realistic long-term Western strategy toward Russia needs to combine "practical engagement" with "strategic assertiveness." Practical engagement focuses on the pursuit of cooperative relations where Western and Russian interests coincide, as in countering international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or in the resolution of regional conflicts where Moscow can play a constructive role. Strategic assertiveness, as an essential complementary approach, must focus on vital long-range Western interests where Russia's negative policies can be effectively countered by the European Union and NATO working in tandem to strengthen transatlanticism. As a primary principle, all NATO-EU allies must avoid compromising core interests through agreements with Russia that sacrifice one Western security priority to gain Kremlin support in another arena. Such compromises not only undermine Europe's commitment to expand democratic security but also permit Russia to implement its Eurasian agenda.

216 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 2008

About the author

Janusz Bugajski is a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, D.C., and host of “Bugajski Hour” television shows broadcast in the Balkans. He was formerly a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, D.C., and the director of New European Democracy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Bugajski has served as a consultant on East European affairs for various U.S. organizations and government agencies as for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Department of Defense, the International Republican Institute (IRI), the Free Trade Union Institute (AFL-CIO), the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), and BBC television in London.

He testifies regularly before the U.S. Congress. He chairs the South-Central Europe area studies program at the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State.