Russia's Greater Eurasia Project as a “Third-Way” Alternative to Western Liberal Order

Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many observers believed Russia not only "bandwagoned" with the global backlash against liberalism, but that it was one of its main protagonists and ringleaders. This view ignored the fact that Russia initially tried to integrate into the liberal international order, albeit on terms that were favorable to its interests and status aspirations. Growing confrontation with the West, failure of domestic liberal reforms, and the larger global anti-liberal backlash led Russia to reevaluate this approach. Russia turned to building a Greater Eurasia (GE) in partnership with China and other non-Western powers. GE represented a “third way” alternative to Western liberal globalization, creating a regional order that would operate according to distinct “non-Western” norms and institutions. These were not anti-liberal or anti-Western, per se, but rather represented a more traditional “Russian” version of liberalism in which liberal economics coexists with political authoritarianism and Westphalian sovereignty trumps universalistic norms of human rights and democracy. The Kremlin’s disastrous and ill-conceived invasion of Ukraine is a “game changer”. Russia is locked in a protracted military and ideological struggle with the West that leads it to reconsider its “third-way” approach and makes it increasingly anti-Western and hostile towards liberalism.