Migration as a (Geo-)Political Challenge in the Post-Soviet Space: Border Regimes, Policy Choices, Visa Agendas, Gulina Olga R.

The ruling elites of the newly independent states exploit, with different degrees of intensity and success, institutions and rules of migration laws, including the granting of citizenship, asylum, temporary and permanent residence authorization, etc., in order to advance certain foreign and domestic policies. The directions of various post-Soviet nations migration policies--be they pro-European, pro-Asian, or pro-Russian--are informed less by a pursuit of cultural, historical, or economic advantages for the respective countries and their populations than by the dynamics of geopolitical rivalry and often by the principle either an ally or a rival; there is no middle ground.