Central Asia in Regional and Global Policies of Russia and China

Year 2024, , 1 - 28, 31.10.2024

Nasuh Uslu

https://doi.org/10.12995/bilig.11101

Abstract

From a realist perspective, there is a power competition between China and Russia and the US-led West. Russian rulers felt that the very existence of Russia was seriously threatened by the advancement of the West in an anarchic system, and they reacted by launching military intervention in Georgia and Ukraine. The efforts of Russian rulers to firmly bind Central Asian countries to Russia through bilateral economic and military relations as well as regional organizations have also been shaped by their struggle to preserve Russian existence against the West. China’s efforts to bind regional countries to itself through the SCO and the BRI is a power accumulation reaction given by a state that has emerged as a power pole vis-a-vis the dominant power to the possibility of being prevented from strengthening itself within the system. Russia and China’s efforts to act together in regional initiatives have emerged as an effort of balancing the West. Accordingly, China’s becoming more influential in the region has been managed by the two states with the same concern and this has served the interests of regional countries. In this study, Russia and China’s policies towards regional countries and their approaches in regional organizations have been explained and analyzed from the realist perspective.

Keywords

Russia, China, Central Asian states, regional organizations, balancing the West

Rusya ve Çin’in Bölgesel ve Küresel Politikalarında Orta Asya

Abstract

Realist perspektiften bakıldığında, Çin ve Rusya ile ABD liderliğindeki Batı arasında bir güç rekabeti mevcuttur. Rus yöneticiler, anarşik sistemde Batının ilerlemesinin Rusya’nın varlığını ciddi şekilde tehdit ettiğini hissetmiş ve Gürcistan ve Ukrayna’ya askerî müdahalede bulunarak tepki göstermişlerdir. Rus yöneticilerin Orta Asya ülkelerini ikili ekonomik ve askerî ilişkilerin yanı sıra bölgesel örgütler aracılığıyla Rusya’ya sıkı sıkıya bağlama çabaları da Batıya karşı Rus varlığını koruma mücadelesi tarafından şekillendirilmiştir. Çin’in ŞİÖ ve KYG üzerinden bölge ülkelerini kendine bağlama çabası, başat güç karşısında bir güç kutbu olarak ortaya çıkan bir devletin sistem içinde güçlenmesinin engellenmesi ihtimaline verdiği bir güç biriktirme tepkisidir. Rusya ve Çin’in bölgesel girişimlerde birlikte hareket etme çabaları, Batıyı dengeleme çabası olarak ortaya çıkmıştır. Çin’in bölgede daha etkili hâle gelmesi, iki devlet tarafından aynı kaygıyla yönetilmiş ve bu durum bölge ülkelerinin çıkarlarına hizmet etmiştir. Çalışmada Rusya ve Çin’in bölge ülkelerine yönelik politikaları ve bölgesel örgütlerdeki yaklaşımları realist perspektiften açıklanmış ve analiz edilmiştir.

Keywords

Rusya, Çin, Orta Asya devletleri, bölgesel örgütler, Batıyı dengeleme

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