International political status of an observer state to the EAEU: problems and prospects of institutionalization
- DOI
- 10.5922/sikbfu-2023-4-9
- Pages
- 96-113
Abstract
The issue of the development of the observer state institution within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has been considered. An attempt has been made to assess the possibilities for the current observer states to acquire full membership and increase the number of observer states within the EAEU. Based on the analysis of regulatory acts and the application of comparative positional analysis, it has been established that the relatively recent institution only took on a more or less complete form by 2023. The main focus of the author’s work is on the international-political usefulness of the observer state status and the problems of its actual implementation. A comparison is made between the positioning of Moldova, Cuba, and Uzbekistan as observer states within the EAEU. Special attention is given to ranking the factors hindering and promoting the effective implementation of this specific international-political status. The conclusion is substantiated that among the hindering factors are the weakness of the national economy and domestic political instability, while among the promoting factors are the presence of political will from a consolidated ruling elite and social demand for the integration proposal. The author concludes that there are two fundamentally possible scenarios for the institutional development of the Union: a) deepening integration; b) expanding the integration space through the advancement of contractual policies. The list of potential future observer states within the EAEU is small: China, Vietnam, Iran, Serbia, and Singapore. As Armenian-Azerbaijani relations normalize and Uzbekistan progresses in integration, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan may potentially attain similar status.