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Accepted Paper:
Against the crisis of the current order: The case of Central Asian Internationalism
Maria Raquel Freire
(CES, FEUC, University of Coimbra)
Daniela Nascimento
(University of Coimbra, CES, FEUC)
Bernardo Teles Fazendeiro
(University of Coimbra)
The prospects of global politics becoming ever more divisive - carved into antagonistic geopolitical blocs - is no longer a passing concern. Scholars and political experts alike have continuously debated the crisis of the (liberal) international order, a crisis that has only worsened after 2022, in the wake of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine. The alleged crisis of that order, coupled with the rise of geopolitics, is as much a sign of decaying internationalism as it is of rising imperialism. The essay takes, however, a less polarised view of the ongoing crisis. Without dismissing the growing potential of imperialism at a global scale, we claim that internationalism remains vital from a regional perspective. As major discussions over the rise of imperialism deal mainly with the great powers, we argue that the regions too need to be scrutinised before dismissing the vitality of the international liberal order. To that effect, we argue that Central Asia as a whole, mainly through the silence it has displayed over the war in Ukraine and the independent foreign policies that its states have practiced since the dissolution of the Soviet Union has helped to foster an international setting that has kept imperialism at bay, both within and without the region. By looking at regions beyond great power competition, such as in Central Asia, internationalism cannot yet be dismissed in its entirety.