Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. The steppe as the great unknown; 2. The emergence of the steppe tradition; 3. The steppe tradition settles down; 4. The steppe in the emergent Rus' polity; 5. Russia and Turkey between the steppe and Europe.

Promotional Information

Argues that the Eurasian steppe political tradition has been globally influential, particularly in the socio-political formation of modern Russia and Turkey.

About the Author

Iver B. Neumann, Ph.D., is a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and Adjunct Professor at the Museum of Cultural History, Universitetet i Oslo. He has taken a career-long interest in the differences between Russia and Europe and has published two previous books on the matter: Russia and the Idea of Europe (1996, 2nd edition, 2017) and Uses of the Other: 'The East' in European Identity Formation (1999). He has also published widely on diplomacy and statebuilding. Einar Wigen, Ph.D. (Universitetet i Oslo, Turkish studies) is post doctoral fellow at the Department for Culture Studies and Oriental Languages,Universitetet i Oslo. As well as being trained as an Ottomanist, he holds one M.A. in political science from the Universitetet i Oslo, and another in peace and conflict studies from European Peace University, Austria. Wigen is the author of the monograph State of Translation: Turkey in Interlingual Relations (2018).

Reviews

'For far too long our large-scale, broad-stroke histories have revolved around sedentary and maritime empires, agro-capitalist regimes, and nation states. This powerful book provides a compelling counter narrative by re-examining a long sweep of Eurasian history from steppe worlds outward rather than sedentary domains outward. The results are revelatory. Even today, if looked closely, we can see traces of the two-millennia-old steppe tradition behind the façade of the modern states system.' Pekka Hämäläinen, author of The Comanche Empire

'Neumann and Wigen have produced a veritable masterpiece. Their book opens up exciting new vistas for the comparative study of international systems, filling a critical lacuna in our understanding of Eurasia's political development. And it also provides timely insight into the enduring imprint of the steppe state-building tradition, and the deep historical roots of authoritarianism in Turkey and the post-Soviet space. The Steppe Tradition in International Relations is destined to be a classic, and should be required reading for all serious students of comparative state formation and historical international relations.' Andrew Phillips, University of Queensland