International Cooperation in the Post-Soviet Space: Former Soviet Republics and Theories of International Politics

The book examines relations between the post-Soviet countries to detect opportunities and limitations of cooperation between them. Existing bilateral and multilateral cooperation are analyzed against the background of security issues.

International Cooperation in the Post-Soviet Space: Former Soviet Republics and Theories of International Politics defines models of international cooperation through application of the main theories of international politics.It is often claimed that complex regional relations are subject to tranformation due to constantly changing geopolitical environment. Aggressive policies under such conditions cannot contribute to regional stability and cooperation. From this position, Farhad Huseynov asserts the incorrectness of the main postulate of offensive realism, that security can be achieved through domination and regional hegemony. In the region domination had provoked counterbalancing behavior and aggression met resistance thereby worsening the situation. This book argues that the security, which is vital for cooperation to take place, has been attained when the regional states maintain moderate and reserved policies according to defensive realist approach.

Farhad Huseynov is Associate Professor of International Relations at the Baku State University. He is co-editor of Contemporary Azerbaijan in Social and Political Dimension (2016).