EU emulation in the design of eurasian integration

This chapter argues that an important feature of the Eurasian regional integration project has been the influence of the institutional design of the EU. While the origin of the project may be influenced by ideational factors of its own unique Eurasian nature or by normative rivalry with the West, its understanding will be limited without taking into account the endeavour to emulate key features of the institutional design of the EU. The chapter examines this process by reference to the macro-intuitional, treaty design of post-Soviet integration. We find that despite the rhetoric to the contrary, the early years of integration are characterised by selective borrowing. The launch of the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space, however, mark a change in the direction of comprehensive and purposeful design emulation and narrative around it. We explain this shift with reference to the interests and strategies of the largest state in the grouping, Russia, in relation to region-building. We argue that Russia’s enhanced investment in EU-style, institutionalised region-building is a marker of Russia’s claim to subscribe to ‘the script of modernity’, the years of exposure to and familiarity with the European ‘regional template’, and the emerging rivalry with the EU in the post-Soviet space.