Eurasianism and Neo-Eurasianism – Contested Concepts behind the Eurasian Economic Union?

Contestation between the European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is characterised by competition over zones of influence. Eurasianism claims a distinctiveness of Eurasia as well as fixed borders towards Europe. Neo-Eurasianism implies a continuity and a close similarity to the historical concept of Eurasianism. Promoted by the Neo-Eurasianist thinker Alexander Dugin and his manifold organisations, Neo-Eurasianism has gained influence in current political debates in Russia. However, a closer look at the concept of Neo-Eurasianism reveals that there is no such continuity. Many crucial aspects of Eurasianism and Neo-Eurasianism are not just different but even contradictory. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to demonstrate that both ideologies and movements are very different. It concludes that the use of the term Neo-Eurasianism for the ideology and political movement of Dugin is misleading. Following a brief analysis of how political scientists use the term Neo-Eurasianism for Dugin’s political thinking, the paper proposes a model for a systematic comparison of historical Eurasianism and Neo-Eurasianism in order to show in detail where the main differences are. Based on this comparison the paper shows that Dugins political concept, which he calls Neo-Eurasianism or sometimes even Eurasianism, is a neo-imperialist ideology and contains a revolutionary nationalist core. This analysis of the ideology, which is currently part of Russian foreign policy debates, is a necessary pre-condition to research the self-perception of the EEU as a geo-political actor. The paper lays the basis for future empirical on the EEU’s self-perception, which helps to understand the causes of contestation between the EU and the EEU.