Research Update
04
JanPreface (draft)
Origin of the concept of Eurasia
People's perception of Eurasia is vague yet precise. Its concept, developed long before, has been given new meanings over time. Its definition, in a broad sense, is profound and inclusive. While in a narrow sense, it contains rich historical profundity and political wisdom.
In strict terms of geology, there is no geological boundary between Europe and Asia. All parts of Eurasia, except the northeastern margin of Serbia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Indian Subcontinent, belong to the Eurasian Plate. People are accustomed to considering the Ural Mountains, the Black Sea, and the Bosporus Strait as a geographic boundary for the connected continents of Europe and Asia.
Figure: Distribution of global geological plates
Therefore, “Eurasia” in its broadest sense should encompass the whole of Asia and Europe. It can be considered as a “world island” surrounded by the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. Today, nearly 5 billion people live on this giant island of 54.739 million square kilometers.
The narrow sense of "Eurasia" has a profound historical background. Starting from the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD), "Xiyu" (the Western Regions), "Dayuan", "Dayi", and "Daqin" in ancient Chinese books are the names for "Eurasia" used by the ancient Chinese people in different periods. On this old continent, both Eastern and Western ancestors established and managed various trade routes: one route stretched from Chang'an (China's ancient capital), through the Western Regions and Central and Western Asia, to the Mediterranean and Europe, known as the "Camel Silk Road" for passing through the desert; another route connected the East with the West under the trade of northern nomadic tribes, called the "Prairie Silk Road". Over the past thousands of years, these routes thrived under trade and commerce and declined and changed course due to wars and plague. Sometimes, they all channeled to the glorious new capitals of rising empires. Yet, sometimes they split apart and stretched towards the border areas of different civilizations just as capillaries, creating a vast web of wealth, knowledge, and rules. The rise and fall of the Eurasian trade routes in history is the epitome and manifestation of the shared future of civilizations along these routes.
In contrast, for Russia, another Eurasian power, "Eurasia" is about the bloody history of conquering and being conquered. The western expedition of the Mongol Empire 800 years ago made the ancient Rus' people "discover" Asia and caused the ruling over the vast land in the northern hemisphere, from the east of the Danube River to the west of the Okhotsk Sea, under the same political regime for the first time in history. Later, from the 16th-19th century, with the decline of the Golden Horde and the Mongolian tribes, and the rise of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its reversed "conquest", the continent that fell apart before came together again.
Russia's eastward integration of Eurasia by land happened almost at the same time as Western Europe's conquering of the world by sea. Therefore, in the mid-19th century, the fast-developing Russian Empire and the flourishing British Empire confronted each other in Eurasia's hinterland and launched an epic war called "the Great Games" by later generations for the control over the "world island". From the fertile Crimean Peninsula to the freezing Caucasus Mountains, from Balochistan's wastelands to Sistan's deserts, the region's old kingdoms and their peoples became the cannon fodder of history under the invasive powers and capitalism.
More than 100 years later, on this land that enjoyed prestige and prosperity but was later laden with sorrows, new opportunities lie ahead. But at the same time, people should always stay alert to new dangers and challenges.
Since modern times, with the rise of maritime civilization, the once flourished and prosperous cities and oases on land have declined. Steam locomotives have long replaced camel caravans, but marine transportation later gained an upper hand thanks to its unparalleled cost advantage. However, when key technologies, such as the new generation high-speed rail, new energy, 5G communications, and UHV transmission and transformation, become more mature, a "new Eurasia era" is about to come.
On September 7, 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping addressed his epoch-making speech titled "Promote Friendship Between Our People and Work Together to Build a Bright Future" at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. In the next eight years, efforts have been made to integrate China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the new economic plan, known as "Nurly Zhol" (Bright Path) proposed by Kazakh President in November 2014. The two sides have worked together to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, benefit other countries in Central Asia through regional cooperation, and revitalize the old "Camel Silk Road".
With further alignment between China's BRI and Russia's "Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)", the ancient Silk Road has regained its vitality with the help of future-oriented technologies. The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union was signed by the heads of state from Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan on May 29, 2014, and entered into force on January 1, 2015. The EAEU was formally established. On May 8, 2015, the heads of state of China and Russia issued the "Joint Declaration on Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and Construction of Eurasian Economic Union between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation", signifying the political guarantee for sustainable development in Eurasia based on a high level of strategic consensus between the two countries. Later, on June 25, 2016, May 17, 2018, and November 7, 2018, the heads of China and Russia held meetings and issued joint statements to gradually improve the alignment and cooperation between the BRI and the EAEU and make substantive institutional arrangements.
As the outcome of friendship among China, Mongolia and Russia, the "Prairie Silk Road" further strengthened the connectivity among these three countries for common development. Further north to the "Prairie Silk Road", thanks to the technological breakthrough of icebreaker and the consensus of China, Russia and other countries on the peaceful use of Arctic resources, an unprecedented "Ice Silk Road" has been created to connect the lands at both sides of Eurasia more closely.
If we say "BRI-EAEU alignment" has built the frame for the Eurasian integration in terms of infrastructure, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has served as the institutional, organizational and ideological basis for the Eurasian community. On June 10, 2018, Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech titled "Carrying Forward the Shanghai Spirit to Build a Community with a Shared Future" at the 18th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the SCO. Since then, building an "SCO community with a shared future" has become the guideline for seeking common ground and harmony, and enhancing the SCO's cohesiveness among Eurasian countries. On September 17, 2021, in his speech made at the 21st Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, Xi Jinping spoke highly of the tremendous achievements made by the SCO in the past 20 years by pointing out that "the SCO has endeavored to promote world peace, development and human progress, and to explore new ground, both theoretically and with actual steps, with a view to building a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind." Therefore, building an SCO community with a shared future among Eurasian countries is the foundation for the community with a shared future for mankind.
To look at it from a broader historical perspective, the economic miracles that China has made in the past 40 odd years since its reform and opening-up is the driving force for the center of economic gravity in the world to "move eastward". The eastward movement is the basis of the "unprecedented global changes unseen in a century". From a macro perspective of the unprecedented changes, Eurasia's revitalization and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are parallel and in the same direction.
Throughout history, great undertakings have never been readily accomplished. At present, the Eurasian development and BRI-EAEU alignment are plagued by various issues, such as major power rivalry, economic slowdown and environment pollution at the global level, separatism, extremism and terrorism at the regional level, and the problems of state governance, social stability, and ethnic conflicts in some countries. Therefore, policymakers and builders committed to reviving Eurasia need to prepare for worst-case scenarios and be conscious of crisis to identify and eliminate risks preemptively and ensure the solid and steady implementation of construction projects.
If on the level of policy and practice, we consider the Eurasian cooperation and BRI-EAEU alignment as the leverage for China to address global challenges and rejuvenate the Chinese nation, and the building of an "SCO community with a shared future" among Eurasian countries as an essential prerequisite of the community with a shared future for mankind, then the Eurasian research is the critical basis of international and regional studies on the academic level.
International and regional studies is an emerging cross-discipline. The whole world is divided into national, regional, and international levels. As Zhang Yunling pointed out, "nations are the basic units and foundation of the world. International area is a concept between countries and the world. Although it does not have an independent legal status, it exists in reality, enjoys common recognition, and has governance functions."
If we consider the governance in Europe and Asia as typical "regional governance", then technically, "Eurasian governance" shall fall into the scope of "cross-/ultra-regional governance" studies. It is between "global" and "regional" in analysis. So the "Eurasian (cross-/ultra-) regional" governance studies are different from classic studies on global or regional governance in terms of scope, content, and method.
In the classic studies on global governance, "governance" originally refers to the change in state governance, a shift from sole governance by the government to joint governance by the government and non-governmental groups. This definition has profound influences on contemporary research on regional governance. In the mainstream Western literature on global and regional governance studies, the governments of sovereign states have always been depicted as passive, minor, or even "backward" and "reactionary". The "dysfunction" in dealing with cross-border or cross-continental issues leads to the rising of non-state actors, such as multinationals and international organizations. And state governments will be decentralized and their roles will change when participating in global and regional governance.
However, when comparing with similar studies made by the United States and other Western countries, we may find out in the governance cooperation of Eurasian countries over the past eight years based on the BRI, the EAEU, the Bright Path, and other initiatives, countries have always been part of them. The governments of sovereign countries always play the leading role in governance, while SOEs led by the governments are critical players. So, how to understand this "non-typical/unconventional governance model"? How to reconsider the government's role in the practice of regional governance and its value in regional governance research? Exploring this topic is of profound policy implications and irreplaceable academic significance. Because only by making "fair comparisons" between the governments and NGOs without bias can we identify the most influential variable and figure out the most explanatory causal mechanism. These localized studies based on the experience and practice in Eurasia may challenge or even reverse the existing mainstream perception and disciplinary systems, but also nurture original theoretical innovation.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has placed high expectations on Chinese social sciences scholars and encouraged us to "continuously promote the construction and innovation of disciplinary, academic and discourse systems". As Chinese Eurasian researchers, we are proud to devote ourselves to this "blue ocean" academic research to live up to our mission and people's expectations and make due contribution to China's international and regional studies and the thriving development and innovation of China's social sciences with our hard work and wisdom.