“[Vladimir] Putin’s aggression makes the possibility of a war in Europe between nuclear-armed adversaries frighteningly real,” writes Kimberly Marten in a new Council Special Report on tensions between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). She outlines how U.S. policymakers can deter Russian aggression with robust support for NATO, while reassuring Russia of NATO’s defensive intentions through clear words and actions based in international law.

An accessible history of multilateralism from its origins in the 1800s to the present Multilateralism has long been a study of contrasts. Nationalist impulses, diverging and shifting goals, and a lack of enforcement methods have plagued the international organizations that facilitate multilateralism. Yet the desire to seek peace, reduce poverty, and promote the global health of people and the planet pushes states to work together. These challenges, across time and the globe, have brought about striking, yet diverging, results. Here, Kathryn Lavelle offers a history of multilateralism from its origins in the nineteenth century to the present. Lavelle focuses on the creation and evolution of major problem-solving organizations, examines the governmental challenges they have confronted and continue to face from both domestic and transnational constituencies, and considers how nongovernmental organizations facilitate their work. Comprehensive and narrative-driven, this book should appeal to students with interests in global development, public health, the environment, trade, international finance, humanitarian law, and security studies.

This book explores the sources of Russia’s foreign policy conduct since the end of the Cold War. It is aimed at those interested in Russian foreign policy, international security, and diplomacy. The book embraces an eclectic approach by applying insights from several strands of IR theory, exploring both international and domestic sources. The author argues that Russian foreign policy is influenced by the country’s strategic culture, which exhibits some persistent elements inherited from Russia’s imperial past and from Soviet times. The challenges to Russia’s security interests from Western policies led to an increase in Russian foreign policy assertiveness. As a result, Russia is becoming more committed to Eurasian integration and nurturing relations with China. This book further argues that Russia’s relations with the post-Soviet states have been and will remain a priority of its foreign relations and, therefore, Russia is likely to continue challenging any Western interference in these states. The author maintains that geoeconomics and the protection of overseas economic interests are becoming more prominent in Russia’s foreign policy calculus. The role of domestic factors in the country’s foreign policy, such as authoritarianism, regime vulnerability, and the role of political factions, is also examined.

The Black Sea region is a dynamic and complex area in which many national and international actors have key interests, including Russia and the US. The European Union stretches to the sea’s western coast where it meets former Soviet territory as well as EU candidate Turkey. Regional tensions include those over NATO enlargement, a US anti-ballistic missile system, access to the Black Sea, democratization, spheres of interest and the conflict zones of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria. In addition, the region’s close proximity to the Caspian basin offers the prospect of alternative energy resources and routes to western states. The Politics of the Black Sea Region: EU Neighbourhood, Conflict Zone or Future Security Community? explores and examines the many diverse political, security and economic interests that affect the region and the possible outcomes for it. By reviewing the wider history and examining the political systems and policies of the Black Sea nations and organizations as well as analyzing current tensions and future trends, it provides an invaluable, comprehensive and unique political guide to this fascinating area.

Great Power competition is back. On the two sides of the Atlantic, however, this concept often means different things. While the United States is focused on China, Europe is preoccupied with Russia. Yet shifting American priorities toward Asia requires reconceptualizing the future role of NATO. In Europe, this shift has led to serious thought about how to achieve strategic autonomy that will allow Europe to guarantee its own security regardless of strategic choices made in Washington. As Chinese strategy focuses on dividing European actors and making them more economically dependent on Beijing, these developments may undermine Washington’s influence in Europe while limiting potential European action against Chinese interests. With a mix of research methodologies applied by scholars from both sides of the Atlantic, Turbulence Across the Sea offers a comprehensive analysis of relations among European and North American actors in the context of strategic competition among the United States, Europe, Russia, and China. In doing so, it demonstrates that a reaffirmation of transatlantic cooperation is necessary to maintain security in the face of aggressive moves by both Russia and China. By analyzing attitudes from the perspective of both the various actors (Britain, France, Germany, and the European Union) and various sectors (intelligence cooperation, foreign direct investments, technology, and the defense industry), this book provides readers with a comprehensive perspective on the challenges and opportunities in the shifting landscape of security in the twenty-first century.

Gardner examines the causes and consequences of Russia's annexation of Crimea. By analyzing alliance formations and the consequences of other annexations in world history, the book urges an alternative US-NATO-European-Japanese strategy toward both Russia and China in the effort to prevent a renewed arms race, if not global war.

Since the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has tried to restore its lost status, prestige, and influence in the global political arena. At the same time, internal political challenges and international events – such as the Arab Spring and the colour revolutions in former Soviet republics – have threatened the security and the national interests of the country. Taking these challenges and opportunities into account, The Russian Military Intervention in Syria examines Russia’s assertive foreign policy and its attempts to protect its geostrategic interests in the Middle East and former Soviet territory. Ohannes Geukjian analyzes the history of Russian military presence in the Middle East and the country’s growing frustration with American and Western policy, revealing the objectives behind Russia’s use of military power – namely, to maintain its regional influence in Eurasia and to enhance its status in the world. Geukjian provides a detailed examination of the Geneva and Astana peace processes, the geopolitical objectives of Turkey, Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, and how disagreements between Russia and the United States over issues of regime change, global security, and armaments have negative implications for international conflict management. The Russian Military Intervention in Syria is an authoritative overview, based on a wide range of new and updated sources, providing a fresh interpretation and analysis of Russia’s foreign policy goals and Russian diplomacy in handling the Syrian conflict.

The book analyses the renewed importance of the North Atlantic for NATO in the face of new security challenges This Whitehall Paper explores the renewed importance of the North Atlantic Ocean to NATO‘s security through the lenses of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway in particular. These three NATO members form the territorial rim around the North Atlantic and its peripheral seas. All are maritime nations that have historically taken prime responsibility for security in the region and together with Iceland they form the front line to a resurgent Russian maritime capability. These three counties, with support from the rest of the northern region, must take the lead to ensure that NATO and its partners devote sufficient resources to this aspect of NATO‘s area of responsibility.

This new edited volume examines contemporary European security from three different standpoints. It explores security dynamics, first, within Europe; second, the interaction patterns between Europe and other parts of the world (the United States, Africa, the Middle East, China and India); and, finally, the external perceptions of European security. The first part of the book analyses the European security landscape. The roles of EU, NATO and the OSCE are given particular attention, as is the impact of their evolution- or enlargement- on the European security architecture and European security dynamics. In this context, Russia’s repositioning as a major power appears as a shaping factor of contemporary European geopolitics. The second part presents European security from an external perspective and considers interactions between Europe and other states or regions. Security trends and actors in Europe are examined from an American, Chinese, and Indian perspective, while Europe--Africa and Europe--Middle East relations are also addressed. This book will be of great interest to students of European Security, European politics and IR in general.