Is Russia Winning the Global South and Losing Central Asia?

In 2022, it was expected that Moscow’s newfound fixation on the war in Ukraine would critically reduce its capacity for global engagement. Defying these initial expectations, Russia appears to have grown its ties with many key states in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, as a multitude of states in the Global South have strengthened their partnerships with Moscow. How and why did this happen? Building on the insights from extensive research interviews and conversations conducted by Kazushige Kobayashi and Kiyomi Osborn, this seminar will unpack the puzzle of Russia’s seemingly growing influence in the Global South despite the wide-ranging constraints imposed by Western sanctions. The seminar will also explore how and to what extent these recent insights from the Global South are applicable in making sense of the dynamic of Russia-China relations and the behavior of Central Asian states.

Host or Publisher Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies