Eurasian Economic Integration and Regionalism

Eurasian economic integration has evolved since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, combining economic, political and strategic objectives across a region stretching from Eastern Europe to Central Asia. The most advanced institutional framework is the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), established to harmonise customs regimes, eliminate internal barriers to trade and coordinate macroeconomic policies. This bloc builds on earlier customs unions and seeks to develop a single market for goods, services, capital and labour. Beyond the EAEU, regional connectivity initiatives such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative and various free trade agreements with third-party countries have deepened Eurasia’s role in global value chains. While trade liberalisation has facilitated increased flows of commodities and manufactured goods, challenges persist in reconciling divergent national regulations, overcoming non-tariff barriers and aligning fiscal and monetary policies. A distinctive feature of Eurasian regionalism is its interplay between liberal economic goals and geopolitical imperatives. Authoritarian regionalism, characterised by the adoption of formal integration measures to reinforce regime legitimacy, contrasts with developmental approaches that emphasise industrial cooperation and sustainable development. Recent decades have witnessed both advances—such as expanded infrastructure networks and enhanced market access for smaller member states—and setbacks prompted by geopolitical tensions, commodity price shocks and institutional resilience tests. Practical applications range from consumer market diversification in member states to joint efforts on energy security and cross-border investment. Together, these dynamics underscore a multifaceted project that continues to reshape the economic geography and governance of Eurasia.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Eurasian Economic Integration and Regionalism publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in eurasian economic integration and regionalism across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Customs union: A trade agreement in which member states eliminate internal tariffs and adopt a common external tariff on imports from non-members.

Free trade area: A regional agreement that eliminates tariffs and quotas among members while maintaining individual external trade policies.

Non-tariff barrier: Regulatory or procedural restrictions, such as quotas or technical standards, that impede trade in goods and services.

Gravity model: An econometric framework that predicts bilateral trade flows based on the economic size and distance between partners.

Authoritarian regionalism: A form of integration where illiberal governments adopt regional frameworks to reinforce regime legitimacy rather than pursue open economic cooperation.

Institutional resilience: The capacity of organisations to absorb and adapt to political, economic or security shocks while maintaining core functions.

References

1. Eurasian Economic Union: Current state and preliminary results. Russian Journal of Economics (2017).
2. Trade policies in Central Asia after EAEU enlargement and after Russian WTO accession: regionalism and integration into the world economy revisited. Eurasian Geography and Economics (2023).
3. Hidden Transformation of Authoritarian Regionalism: Tracing Organizations’ Functions Through Officials’ Biographies. Politische Vierteljahresschrift (2024).
4. The Eurasian Economic Union in search of strategic partners: The gravity effects of integration blocs. Panoeconomicus (2023).
5. The Rise and Fall of the Eurasian Regionalism. The Economists Voice (2023).
6. Moving towards developmental regionalism? industrial cooperation in the Eurasian Economic Union from an Armenian and Belarusian perspective. Post-Communist Economies (2020).