Identity and Politics in Central Asia and the Caucasus

"The multi-cultural region of Central Eurasia is living through its early post-independence years, and as such serves as an ideal case to study and analyse theories of identity and foreign policy in a non-European context. Looking to re-introduce identity as a multi-dimensional factor informing state behaviour, this book analyses the experiences of the different Central Eurasian states in their post-independence pursuits. The book is structured into two broadly defined sections, with the first half examining the different ways in which the combination of domestic, regional, international and trans-national forces worked to advance one national identity over the others in the states that comprise the region of post-Soviet Central Eurasia. In the second half, chapters analyse the many ways in which identity, once shaped, affected foreign policy behaviours of the regional states, as well as the overall security dynamics in the region. The book also looks at the ways in which identity, by