''Within 20 years, old habits of referring
to Asia and Europe will be replaced by Eurasia, which is an
‘inescapable reality’ as a single political and economic space. Will it
be like the EU, or influenced by Russia and China with new universal
values propagated by Russia and China?
Macaes, a former Portuguese minister,
has produced a thought-provoking work, based on travels in search of the
“centre” of Eurasia across countries, which may be described loosely as
Central Asia. But more interesting than his travelogue are his
geopolitical analyses and conclusions.
None of the peoples of Asia conceive
themselves as being part of a single unit, solidarity or fellow-feeling;
the Europeans gave rise in their dealings with Asia to the growth of a
common feeling of Asian-ness.
Asia does not exist as a collective
actor, and we all have different visions of what a common world should
look like. Russia anticipates a Eurasian age of competitive integration
between different political models, and Putin believes in international
politics as “permanent rivalry and competition.”
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