Beyond Russian neo-imperialist interests

Beyond Russian neo-imperialist interests: Armenian and Belarusian viewpoints on industrial cooperation in the Eurasian Economic Union

Research on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) tends to focus on Russia’s (neo-imperialist) interests. As a consequence, the small(er) states’ viewpoints are often neglected. This paper contributes to the debate by approaching industrial cooperation in the framework of the EAEU from the Armenian and the Belarusian perspective. The analysis is based on a regulationist approach and draws on official documents and newspaper articles. At the core of the research are more than a dozen expert interviews, mainly conducted in the respective countries. The paper delineates the expectations and concerns regarding regional industrial policy and economic development strategies of different interest groups and class fractions in Armenia and Belarus. Thereby, it identifies diverging, and sometimes conflicting, interests in this sphere.