Zhyldyz Oskonbaeva(RIEAS Senior Advisor & Eurasian Liaison)
Daniel Little
(RIES Senior Advisor)
Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication Date: 6 September 2014
Achieving 'Harmony in the World' through international cooperation or scourging those 'Disrupting the Peace' are simple enough themes for short media segments but for pragmatists these are neither explanatory nor accurate. Instead realists argue that harmony and peace are illusory ideals which never existed. In world affairs the analogy of 'balancing' or more commonly the 'Balance of Power' appears more apt. Such is the case of Russia's relationship with the Ukraine. Not all that long ago Russia literally had its say in affairs in each of the regions it bordered. Whether it was Eurasia, the Caucasus or particularly in Eastern Europe, everyone looked to Moscow's reaction first before deciding anything on their own. When the Soviet Union fell apart, the rest of the world believed that it was the end of "Russian Hegemony."..... Read more