This book investigates the economic, political and cultural factors that influence regional economic integration processes as well as international political cooperation in the area of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The authors analyze market integration manifested in interregional trade, investment and service connections. Taking a constructivist approach, they shed new light on how national, ethnic, religious and linguistic factors as well as systems of government, political regimes and models of leadership shape foreign-policy decision-making in various post-Soviet countries.

Katarzyna Czerewacz-Filipowicz a Doctor of Political Science, an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Economic and Social Sciences in Bialystok University of Technology. A Visiting Researcher of the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), Brugge, Belgia and Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, Poland. She specializes in international economic processes of regional integration. The main area of her interest is the post-Soviet region with a special focus on the groupings functioning there. She has written and edited a number of papers and monographs on economic and political integration. The head of the research grant No.2011/03/B/HS4/05930 funded by the National Science Centre on Economic consequences of regional integration processes in the area of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Agnieszka Konopelkois a Doctor of Political Science. She teaches political science and international relations at Facultyof Management in Bialystok University of Technology. She was a Visiting Researcher of the University of Quebec, Trois-Rivieres, Canada and the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. She is a member of many professional scientific associations. Her research interests include transformation and democratization processes in the post-Soviet area and the relations of the post-Soviet countries with the European Union. She was awarded the Medal for Long Service by the President of Poland. She has published numerous articles and chapters on political and economic development in the post-Soviet area.

Introduction.- Premises, Origin and Scope of Regional Integration Agreements in the CIS Area: The Commonwealth of Independent States.- The Eurasian Economic Union.- The Union State of Russia and Belarus.- The Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM.- The Scope and the State of Institutional Integration Within the CIS Area.- The Economic Environment for Regional Integration of the CIS Countries: The Economic Situation of Particular Countries Researched.- Intensity of Trade in the CIS Area.- The Scope of Trade Integration of CIS Countries.- Selected Non-economic Factors of the Regional Integration of the CIS Countries: Directions of Constitutional Changes in the Context of Relations Between State Authorities.- Concepts of Political Leadership in the CIS Region.- Key Vectors of Foreign Policy in Countries of the CIS Region.- Sources and Consequences of Major Domestic and International Conflicts in the CIS Area.- The Model of Economic and Political Relations and RegionalIntegration Processes in the CIS Area: Russian Federation.- Eastern European Post-soviet Countries.- South Caucasus Countries.- Central Asian Post-soviet Countries.- Conclusions.