"Because of both history and geography, the Finnish relationship with Russia is unique in Europe. At the same time the Finnish perception of Russia as a source of security challenges is acute. Finland is engaged in a debate over whether it would be desirable to seek membership of NATO in order to mitigate these challenges. A full and frank debate has been difficult because it is constrained by a range of political and societal taboos; nevertheless there are indicators that a move toward NATO is not impossible in the foreseeable future. If Finland were to opt for joining NATO, this would register in Russian defence and security thinking as a serious concern. Unlike the Baltic accession in 2004, the response from the newly assertive Russia could potentially be swift and damaging. This would also have implications for Russian relations with the EU, of which Finland has been a member since 1995. Many in Finland see the EU as a security provider, and there is confusion in the national debate between EU or Nordic security policy cooperation and an actual defensive alliance. Finland's NATO argument is a complex and multi-faceted one, made even more so by regional and cultural specifics; but it needs to be understood because its result could have a major impact on Russia's relationships with both NATO and the EU."--Page i.

Russia has recently re-emerged as the dominant political, economic and military actor in former Soviet nations. Kanet and Freire bring together a stellar cast of contributors to consider Russia's recent return as a major regional and international actor and its likely future policy toward its neighbours.

Should the European Neighbourhood Policy stop at the borders of the European Union’s immediate neighbouring countries? This book is the first full length study of the ’neighbours of the EU’s neighbours’, a concept originally introduced by the European Commission with reference to Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. These regions in the EU’s broader neighbourhood are often perceived as an ’arc of crisis’ from which manifold challenges emanate for Europe. This timely book takes stock of the state of the EU’s cooperation with the neighbours of its neighbours and explores how the concept might help promote security, stability and prosperity beyond the countries which are formally part of the European Neighbourhood Policy. How can the EU create bridges between these regions? What instruments does the EU have at its disposal and how can it link them in order to respond to the challenges and overcome the current fragmentation? One of the conclusions is the suggestion to consider a pragmatic ’EU Strategy for the Neighbours of its Neighbours’ which addresses the needs of the broader EU neighbourhood in a more systematic and consistent manner and helps transform in the long run the ’arc of crisis’ into another ’ring of friends’.

This book has been replaced by A Geography of Russia and Its Neighbors, Second Edition, ISBN 978-1-4625-4459-2.

An introduction, complete in one volume, to the history of Russia from medieval times to the fall of Khrushchev and beyond. A study of the geographical setting in which the Russian state grew to its present super-power status is followed by five chapters which discuss the political, social, and economic history of the country, and four final chapters examine respectively the role of the Church, Soviet government and politics, the economy of the Soviet state, and the international relations of the USSR. Each chapter has been specially commissioned for this volume, and the writers are acknowledged experts in their fields. Every chapter is followed by a guide to further reading. This is perhaps the most comprehensive and authoritative collaborative history of Russia yet to appear. It will be read as a continuous account, and will also be consulted as a standard reference guide in libraries of universities, colleges, and schools wherever Russian and Soviet history, European history, and international relations are studied. It forms the first part of the three-volume Companion to Russian Studies, the two other parts of which deal with Russian language and literature, and Russian art and architecture respectively.

A guide to understanding the Russians which goes behind the curtain of bearishmess to reveal their soft underbelly.

The European Union in its neighbourhood is confronted with several challenges as well as opportunities. The degree to which it can promote the geopolitical stabilization of Europe and the spread of economic and political governance, based on democratic ideals in its neighbourhood, will determine the future course of Europe and will be a clear indicator of the success or failure of the European Union on the international scene as a whole. In addition, the security context of Europe has changed profoundly since the end of the Cold war, and with it the perceptions of what role the European Union can play in expanding stability and security throughout the European continent. European Union’s neighbouring states and regions are viewed by European Union member states as the primary source of many of the non-traditional security threats, such as terrorism, migration, trafficking, and transnational organized crime. Addressing the Europe Union’s twenty-first century challenges, this study looks at the policies of the EU towards its neighbours as a critical dimension of the totality of the EU’s foreign and security policy. This volume brings together a broad range of scholars and seeks to highlight some of the main issues that concern the European relations with its neighbour’s countries in the Western Balkans, the Eastern and Southern Europe, and with Russia. In short, the volume raises important, timely issues regarding the challenges and opportunities confronting the European Union in its neighbourhood which both policy makers and academicians will find both informative and though provoking in their efforts to understand the nature and complexity of the European Union actions in its neighbourhood.