Sept. 5, a public forum concerning the current Russia-Georgia crisis was held in Harrison Hall, giving the Miami University community an opportunity to dissect this contentious issue from numerous angles. For example, one important observation emphasized throughout the talks was the unique geographical position of Georgia's capital city, Tbilisi, as a major hub of two major oil and gas pipelines running to the West through Turkey. The political implications of this one factor alone causes us to consider the broader geopolitical context in which Georgia and Russia are situated.
When we speak about places such as Georgia or Russia-two nations that have dominated international headlines for the past few weeks-most of us can hopefully locate them on a map of the world. But this simple task becomes more difficult when one attempts to define the region that surrounds them. While Georgia, a politically Western-leaning country situated in the Caucasus Mountains between the Black and Caspian Seas, and Russia are traditionally considered to be part of Asia, in the 21st century, the dividing line between Europe and Asia, West and East, "modernity" and "primitive society," has become extremely blurred. Classic geographical borders between Europe and Asia such as Russia, the Ural Mountains or the Caucasus Mountains are outdated and arbitrary. How does one draw the line? What are the criteria for one country to be considered wholly European and the other Asian? Cultural crossover does not simply stop at some point on a map, does it? What happens when we can no longer distinguish between Europe and Asia? Well, one result is the infiltration of Eurasia as a catchall term in contemporary ivory tower academia as well as identity politics. But hang on a second: what the hell is Eurasia anyways?
Is it Europe plus Asia? A combination of both, perhaps? Actually, no concrete answer exists. Rather, Eurasia is a much more ambiguous term that essentially means whatever you want it to mean. The idea of Eurasia, as it is typically understood today, originated in post-revolutionary Russia during the 1920s and 1930s with an intellectual group known as the Eurasianists, who asserted that Eurasia was not Europe or Asia, but a distinct third entity, with its own unique history and destiny. Likewise, this mentality mirrors the Slavophile movement in 19th century Russia, of which famous author Fyodor Dostoevsky was an advocate, which upholds that Russia is neither affiliated with East nor West; instead, Russian society/culture continues to develop along its own unique path. Recently, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Eurasia has once again resurfaced as a means to fill the gigantic void left by a defunct communist empire that once occupied large swaths of both Europe and Asia. As a result, just what exactly constitutes this third continent is forever debatable, but proponents of Eurasian identity usually point to the former Eastern Bloc, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, etc): places formerly bound together under the same Soviet banner.
Outside of Western academic circles, the concept of Eurasia is also gaining popularity. For example, the current president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev, is convinced that his country, specifically the capital, Astana, is at the heart of what he considers to be Eurasia. His ambitions include the creation of the EU: the Eurasian Union, an entity that would unite former post-Soviet nations into a kind of multicultural society while echoing the basic economic infrastructure of the European Union. Clearly, Nazarbaev sees Central Asia as an important yet overlooked region that's strategic and political potential remains largely untapped. So, in order for Kazakhstan and her neighbors to rise out of obscurity he has adopted a flexible, albeit vague, term like Eurasia to give himself lots of maneuverability in creating his nascent EU.
Indeed, Eurasia may be an elusive concept, but it certainly has its advantages. Most importantly, the idea of Eurasia itself demonstrates that a clear-cut Europe-Asia divide is basically untenable. We can no longer divide a large part of our world into two diametric and impermeable spaces without a somewhat guilty conscience. Even Europe's traditional boundaries are not set in stone. Case in point: Turkey's European Union aspirations.
Furthermore, Eurasia is a term free of political baggage, at least for now. From the Western perspective, it's "something we can fill in the meaning to," as professor of Russian history Steven Norris put it to students in his Introduction to Russian and Eurasian Studies course. It could be a synthesis of Europe and Asia or some kind of intermediary, but either way it gives someone like Nazarbaev the ability to choose the best of both worlds: embrace European football competition and government, and on the other hand, celebrate Asian culture and roots.
At the same time, however, Eurasia is complicated because it is embodied with different meanings for certain groups. For instance, as scholar Stephen Kotkin points out, in places like Kazakhstan, Eurasia has the connotation of being Western-friendly, whereas in Russia, Eurasia takes on a more anti-Western overtone in order to stress Russia's uniqueness vis-Ã -vis Europe and North America. Therefore, Eurasia may be a convenient way to re-imagine post-Soviet space, but its nuances will determine whether or not it will stick around permanently.
Lastly, in trying to identify Georgia and Russia as part of Europe or Asia, several clues help show us which geographical sphere they lean towards. For example, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's ardent pro-Western government suggests that Georgia aligns itself more with Europe, even if it is not technically located in what we consider to be "Europe." Also, deeper ties with the United States were sealed by Vice President Dick Cheney's sympathy visit to Georgia recently, coupled with our munificent aid package of one billion dollars. Despite these political alliances, Georgia is still cut off from continental Europe by Turkey and Russia, but then again, these countries do not seem to be distinctly European or Asian either.
Similarly, if western Russia (i.e. Moscow, St. Petersburg and the region of Kaliningrad) is seen as European, does that mean Vladivostok way out in the East is also European? In reality, it seems Russia is simply too restricted by its enormity to be considered as such.
So, perhaps Eurasia is the best solution, at least in the short run. As of now, neither of these countries fit either category, mostly because they have themselves helped deconstruct the barrier between Europe and Asia. As a result, maybe Georgia and Russia really are destined for some place else. It may not be the utopia promised by the Soviets, but it is indeed something unique.
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