Russia's Impact on EU Policy Transfer to the Post-Soviet Space

Esther Ademmer's book makes an important and timely contribution to our understanding of EU and Russian influence on policy developments in their contested common neighborhood. Against the simplistic depiction of the EU and Russia as opposing forces for and against policy reform, the book provides rich case study evidence of Russia's diverse impact, the challenges the EU faces, and the room of maneuver local elites enjoy. Highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the post-Soviet region and EU external governance. - Frank Schimmelfennig, ETH Zurich, Switzerland A welcome change from simplistic geopolitical approaches, this book offers a sophisticated, theory driven analysis of the impact and the limitations of the European Union and Russia in their shared neighbourhood. The `preferential fit' framework, applied to well-chosen case studies, yields important conclusions about the primacy of domestic elites in shaping compliance with European or Russian demands for policy change. - Dr. Antoaneta L. Dimitrova, Leiden University, the Netherlands. This book provides an outstanding account of the competing influence of Russia and the European Union over the European Neighborhood Countries. ã It shows how countries such as Armenia and Georgia cope with opposing pressures from Russia and the EU, maneuvering between their contradictory influences in ways that minimally satisfy both partners, while achieving domestic political goals. ã Through detailed discussion of countervailing pressures in migration and energy policy, this book provides a clear model for understanding the domestic politics of compliance with two competing behemoths. ã Ademmer's book is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the European Neighborhood Policy and how the competition between the EU and Russia plays out in the lands in between. - Mitchell Orenstein, University of Pennsylvania, USA.