Europe-Asia Studies

Europe-Asia Studies
Title	Europe-Asia Studies
Discipline	Area studies
Language	English
Former names	Soviet Studies
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
History	1949–present
Frequency	Monthly
Issn	0966-8136

Europe-Asia Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering political, social, economic, and cultural developments across Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Xinjiang. Founded as Soviet Studies in 1949, it has chronicled transformations from the Cold War and Soviet Union eras through the Collapse of the Soviet Union to contemporary issues such as post-communist transitions, regional integration, and geopolitical competition involving European Union, NATO, and China. The journal publishes articles, review essays, and book reviews engaging scholars and policymakers connected to institutions like Harvard University, University of Oxford, and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Overview

Europe-Asia Studies specializes in empirical and theoretical work on states, societies, and transnational processes affecting regions once dominated by the Soviet Union, including scholarship on Vladimir Putin-era Russia, post-Soviet trajectories in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, as well as research on historical episodes such as the Russian Revolution, the Great Patriotic War, and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Contributors often engage with sources housed in archives like the State Archive of the Russian Federation and libraries such as the British Library and Library of Congress, while dialogues link to policy debates involving German Federal Foreign Office, US Department of State, and United Nations agencies.

History and development

Established in 1949 by scholars responding to wartime and postwar scholarly needs, the journal originally appeared under the title Soviet Studies and reflected interests surrounding the Cold War, the Marshall Plan, and scholarly analysis of Joseph Stalin. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, coverage shifted with perestroika and glasnost under Mikhail Gorbachev and the journal adapted to the Dissolution of the Soviet Union by broadening to include research on independent republics such as Georgia (country), Belarus, and Lithuania. Editorial boards have included figures associated with Columbia University, London School of Economics, Stanford University, and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR; notable debates published in the journal intersected with discussions sparked by works from scholars linked to Samuel Huntington, Stephen Kotkin, and Orlando Figes.

Scope and interdisciplinary approaches

The journal embraces comparative research drawing on methods from historians at institutions like the University of Cambridge and anthropologists affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, as well as political scientists from Yale University and economists from World Bank research units. Article methodologies include archival history referencing the Comintern records, quantitative analysis using datasets produced by Freedom House and World Bank, and ethnographic fieldwork in locales such as Dagestan, Kyrgyzstan, and Bashkortostan. Interdisciplinary dialogues link to scholarship on cultural production involving texts like Doctor Zhivago and musical traditions studied alongside monuments like the Kremlin.

Regional focuses

Coverage spans Russia, the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Ukraine including the Euromaidan protests and the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the South Caucasus (Georgia (country), Azerbaijan, Armenia) with attention to conflicts like the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan', Tajikistan). The journal also treats frontier regions including Siberia, Far East (Russia), and Xinjiang within the context of initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative and geopolitical contests involving Turkey, Iran, and China. Historical case studies address imperial legacies tied to the Russian Empire and treaties like the Treaty of Nystad.

Major themes and debates

Recurring themes include state formation and authoritarian resilience analyzed alongside leaders such as Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, transitions from planned to market economies with reference to Shock therapy economic policy debates and figures like Yegor Gaidar, ethnic politics and nation-building in Azerbaijan and Georgia, energy politics centered on Gazprom, BP (corporation), and pipeline geopolitics exemplified by the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline. Security studies topics include NATO enlargement, the War in Donbas, and counterterrorism efforts related to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and regional insurgencies. Intellectual history covers debates influenced by works from Isaiah Berlin and archival revelations concerning Lavrentiy Beria and Nikita Khrushchev.

Key journals, institutions, and scholars

Complementary journals include The Russian Review, Post-Soviet Affairs, Slavic Review, Caucasus Survey, and Central Asian Survey. Prominent research centers and institutions with overlapping interests include the Wilson Center, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Chatham House, Higher School of Economics, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Influential scholars who have contributed to the field or whose work is frequently cited include Richard Sakwa, Esther Kingston-Mann, Timothy Snyder, Sergei Guriev, Neil Robinson, Masha Gessen, Mark Galeotti, Anne Applebaum, Sheila Fitzpatrick, Stephen Kotkin, Alexei Miller, Lilia Shevtsova, Grigory Yavlinsky, Leon Aron, and Thomas de Waal. Emerging researchers are often affiliated with universities such as Princeton University, University College London, and Indiana University Bloomington.

Category:Area studies journals