Institutions, cooperation, and hegemony: a comparative analysis of Russia’s cooperative hegemonic strategy in Central Asia’s key institutional frameworks

ABSTRACT Since the 2000s, Russia intensified its relations with the Central Asia. This is particularly visible in the increased institutionalization of the cooperation. This paper argues that regional regimes like the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) became the prime tools in Russia’s cooperative hegemony in the Central Asia. This strategy relies on co-opting of the smaller partners into institutional settings for the purpose of not just enhancing cooperation but also reestablishing a softer form of domination over the region and transforming it into a regional pole. This in turn would be a foundation for Russia’s return to the global stage. As the paper shows, this strategy relies on would-be hegemon’s ability to convince a sufficient number of regional partners to seek membership in these regimes, share the power with them, and remain committed to the project.