31 Jan 2022

Russia and China in the 21st century: Between Cooperation and Competition at the Regional and Global Level

Eureast Platform Ghent University

Source: John S.Y. Lee / flickr

The steady intensification of Sino-Russian cooperation over the past few years has triggered a surge in scholarly interest. However, in light of the far-reaching geopolitical implications of the Sino-Russian rapprochement, most studies of Sino-Russian dynamics are not only conducted from the disciplinary perspective of International Relations (IR), but also continue to be embedded in realist assumptions and power-political perspectives. This special issue seeks to advance the scholarly knowledge on the Sino-Russian relationship by making the case for expanding the scope of analysis theoretically, disciplinarily and empirically. This introductory article first sets the context by providing a historical overview of key developments in Sino-Russian relations. Following an in-depth review of the IR-dominated literature, it then substantiates the claim that there is a need to broaden the scope of analysis in order to move beyond the IR realist perspective that predominates the literature on the Sino-Russian relationship. Together, the articles in the special issue add new insights to the literature by analyzing the depth of the relationship; scrutinizing Russian discourses on China, in both historical and contemporary contexts; exploring the limitations and dilemmas of the relationship; and paying specific attention to the agency of the countries “in-between”, from Central Asia to Mongolia.

Read the full publication here.

Eureast Platform Ghent University

Geopolitics

Lecture 'Occupation: Russian rule in South-Eastern Ukraine'

Lecture by David Lewis, Department of Politics, University of Exeter Russia now occupies almost one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. Quite little is known though about its actual post-2022 day-to-day rule and its occupation policies in these areas besides Crimea. In this talk, held on the occasion of the publishing of his book on the subject, professor David Lewis of the University of Exeter will explain how Russia seeks to subjugate and ‘re-format’ the occupied parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces through a mixture of violent repression, political engineering, collaborationism, economic coercion and propaganda. Lewis will elaborate on how Moscow attempts to create an ‘ersatz Novorossiya’ in areas where about half of the pre-war population fled to Western and Central Europe, Russia or non-occupied Ukraine, and where the remainders, though mostly hostile to the occupiers, face uncomfortable daily choices to survive under occupation. This event is organized by the Centre for Russian International Socio-Political and Economic Studies (CERISE) and the Conflict Research Group (CRG) of Ghent University. Admission is free but registration is required.

27 Feb 2025

Auditorium E