All Outputs (13)

Russian intervention in Syria : exploring the nexus between regime consolidation and energy transnationalisation (2020)
Journal Article
Maher, D., & Pieper, M. (2021). Russian intervention in Syria : exploring the nexus between regime consolidation and energy transnationalisation. Political Studies, 69(4), 944-964. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321720934637

Interpretations of Russia’s military intervention in Syria overwhelmingly focus on Russia’s political motivations. An alternative view foregrounds Russia’s economic motivations, namely, the construction of a multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline traver... Read More about Russian intervention in Syria : exploring the nexus between regime consolidation and energy transnationalisation.

The ‘rising power’ status and the evolution of international order : conceptualising Russia’s Syria policies (2019)
Journal Article
Pieper, M. (2019). The ‘rising power’ status and the evolution of international order : conceptualising Russia’s Syria policies. Europe-Asia Studies, 71(3), 365-387. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2019.1575950

Taking Syria’s armed conflict as a case study to illustrate processes of normative contestation in international relations, this paper is interested in re-examining the typology of Russia as a ‘rising power’ to account for ‘rise’ in a non-material di... Read More about The ‘rising power’ status and the evolution of international order : conceptualising Russia’s Syria policies.

Mapping Eurasia : contrasting the public diplomacies of Russia’s ‘Greater Eurasia’ and China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative (2018)
Journal Article
Pieper, M. (2018). Mapping Eurasia : contrasting the public diplomacies of Russia’s ‘Greater Eurasia’ and China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. Rising powers quarterly (Online), 3(3),

This paper contrasts the public diplomacies behind China and Russia’s approaches to Eurasian Order and process-traces the gradual interaction between the two. It argues that Russia’s ‘Greater Eurasia’ vision seeks to create a common space in Eurasia... Read More about Mapping Eurasia : contrasting the public diplomacies of Russia’s ‘Greater Eurasia’ and China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative.

Russkiy mir : the geopolitics of Russian compatriots abroad (2018)
Journal Article
Pieper, M. (2020). Russkiy mir : the geopolitics of Russian compatriots abroad. Geopolitics, 25(3), 756-779. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2018.1465047

This paper argues that the instrumental reference to Russian ‘compatriots’ in Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 served as a discursive framing to justify contradictions in Russian approaches to state sovereignty to an international audience. Contra... Read More about Russkiy mir : the geopolitics of Russian compatriots abroad.

The transatlantic dialogue on Iran : the European subaltern and hegemonic constraints in the implementation of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran (2016)
Journal Article
Pieper, M. (2017). The transatlantic dialogue on Iran : the European subaltern and hegemonic constraints in the implementation of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran. European Security, 26(1), 99-119. https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2016.1240676

This article analyses the US-EU transatlantic dialogue on the Iranian nuclear dossier with a particular view to implications for European Union (EU) foreign policy on Iran. Doing so, it uses neo-Gramscian scholarship to put the EU’s ‘over-compliance’... Read More about The transatlantic dialogue on Iran : the European subaltern and hegemonic constraints in the implementation of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

The construction of crisis : the ‘internal‑identitarian’ nexus in Russian‑European relations and its significance beyond the Ukraine crisis (2016)
Journal Article
beyond the Ukraine crisis. Politics in Central Europe (Print), 12(1), 95-110. https://doi.org/10.1515/pce-2016-0006

Since 2012 and with Putin’s return to the presidency, Russian politics underwent a process of securitization of domestic politics. This laid the groundwork for the crisis in European‑Russian relations that culminated in the ‘Ukraine crisis’ from late... Read More about The construction of crisis : the ‘internal‑identitarian’ nexus in Russian‑European relations and its significance beyond the Ukraine crisis.

Hedging in the Middle East and China-U.S. Competition (2015)
Journal Article
Salman, M., Pieper, M., & Geeraerts, G. (2015). Hedging in the Middle East and China-U.S. Competition. Asian Politics and Policy, 7(4), 575-596. https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12225

This article examines policies of both China and the United States in the Middle East. It evaluates the effectiveness of Beijing's strategic hedging behavior against Washington's “hard power” strategies by discussing several policy challenges in this... Read More about Hedging in the Middle East and China-U.S. Competition.

Between the democratisation of international relations and status quo politics : Russia's foreign policy towards the Iranian nuclear programme (2015)
Journal Article
Pieper, M. (2015). Between the democratisation of international relations and status quo politics : Russia's foreign policy towards the Iranian nuclear programme. International Politics, 52(2), 567-588. https://doi.org/10.1057/ip.2015.24

This article sheds light on Russia’s foreign policy towards the Iranian nuclear programme and analyses to what extent Russia’s Iran policies are indicative of a security culture that resists hegemony. Following a two-level model between a discursive... Read More about Between the democratisation of international relations and status quo politics : Russia's foreign policy towards the Iranian nuclear programme.

Chinese, Russian, and Turkish policies in the Iranian nuclear dossier : between resistance to hegemony and hegemonic accommodation (2014)
Journal Article
Pieper, M. (2014). Chinese, Russian, and Turkish policies in the Iranian nuclear dossier : between resistance to hegemony and hegemonic accommodation. Asian journal of peacebuilding, 2(1), 17-36

This article sheds light on the foreign policies of China, Russia, and Turkey towards the controversial Iranian nuclear program and analyzes to what extent their policies are indicative of a security culture that resists hegemony. While advocating a... Read More about Chinese, Russian, and Turkish policies in the Iranian nuclear dossier : between resistance to hegemony and hegemonic accommodation.

Dragon dance or panda trot? China’s position towards the Iranian Nuclear Programme and its perception of EU unilateral Iran sanctions (2013)
Journal Article
Pieper, M. (2013). Dragon dance or panda trot? China’s position towards the Iranian Nuclear Programme and its perception of EU unilateral Iran sanctions. European Journal of East Asian Studies, 12(2), 295-316. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-13120207

In its foreign policy towards the Iranian nuclear programme, China is unwilling to join the partially harsh anti-Iran rhetoric of the US and the EU3. China has averted the imposition of sanctions and only abstained from its veto power as a permanent... Read More about Dragon dance or panda trot? China’s position towards the Iranian Nuclear Programme and its perception of EU unilateral Iran sanctions.

The European Union as an actor in arctic governance
Journal Article
Pieper, M., Winter, M., Wirtz, A., & Dijkstra, H. The European Union as an actor in arctic governance. European Foreign Affairs Review, 16(2), 227-242

This article analyses the actorness of the European Union (EU) in Arctic governance. As a result of melting ice caps, this region is of increasing geopolitical and commercial importance. All Arctic coastal states have therefore recently developed pol... Read More about The European Union as an actor in arctic governance.

The Syrian Civil War : regional ramifications, global disharmony and hegemonic decline
Journal Article
Pieper, M. (in press). The Syrian Civil War : regional ramifications, global disharmony and hegemonic decline

The Syrian civil war that started early in 2011 has evolved into a spiral of violence that not only has lasting consequences for the state and society of Syria, but is inevitably affecting regional power balances in the Middle Eastern and beyond. Sau... Read More about The Syrian Civil War : regional ramifications, global disharmony and hegemonic decline.

Turkish foreign policy toward the Iranian Nuclear Programme : in search of a New Middle East Order after the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War
Journal Article
East Order after the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War. Alternatives (Yalova), 12(3), 81-92

Turkey’s role in the Iranian nuclear dossier is often portrayed as that of a ‘facilitator’ and ‘mediator’ in scholarly analyses. NATO member Turkey was seen as a potential bridge-builder between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the ‘Western camp’... Read More about Turkish foreign policy toward the Iranian Nuclear Programme : in search of a New Middle East Order after the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War.