The Greater Vladivostok Project: Transnational Linkages in Regional Economic Planning

This article examines Moscow's bargaining with the Maritime province in the framework of a two-level bargaining game in Northeast Asia. Differences between Beijing and Tokyo over the nature of Northeast Asian subregional economic development cooperation schemes found allies in Russian domestic politics with Moscow aligning with Beijing and Vladivostok aligning with Tokyo. These system-level differences fed into disagreements between Moscow and Vladivostok as they bargained domestically over budgetary allocation and tax remittances. These domestic-level differences obstructed Moscow's bargaining with Beijing and Tokyo over bilateral issues. Moscow needed Primorye's compliance in these system-level issues, and to get that compliance, Moscow promised large side payments to Primorye, giving the province enhanced leverage with the center. It is simultaneous bargaining at two levels that produced this outcome. This study suggests that Russian center-local bargaining parallels Chinese center-local bargaining in the enhanced leverage the locality derives from its transnational linkages.