Moscow's use of its military abroad in recent years has radically reshaped perceptions of Russia as an international actor. With the 2014 annexation of Crimea, the invasion of eastern Ukraine and sustainment of an insurgency there, and (in particular) the 2015 intervention in Syria, Russia repeatedly surprised U.S. policymakers with its willingness and ability to use its military to achieve its foreign policy objectives. Despite Russia's relatively small global economic footprint, it has engaged in more interventions than any other U.S. competitor since the end of the Cold War. In this report, the authors assess when, where, and why Russia conducts military interventions by analyzing the 25 interventions that Russia has undertaken since 1991, including detailed case studies of the 2008 Russia-Georgia War and Moscow's involvement in the ongoing Syrian civil war. The authors suggest that Russia is most likely to intervene to prevent erosion of its influence in its neighborhood, particularly following a shock that portends such an erosion occurring rapidly. If there were to be a regime change in a core Russian regional ally, such as Belarus or Armenia, that brought to power a government hostile to Moscow's interests, it is possible (if not likely) that a military intervention could ensue.

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.

Russia has been embroiled in bitter disputes with major Western powers over high-profile military interventions - over Kosovo (1999), Iraq (2003), Georgia (2008), and even Libya (2011) which had a UN Security Council mandate. Moscow and the West reached much more agreement over the Gulf War (1990) and intervention in Afghanistan (2001), but these cases are exceptional. This interdisciplinary study explores the persistent differences between Russian and Western leaders about most Western-led military campaigns and about Russia's own use of force in the CIS region. What does this tell us about emerging norms on the use of force in humanitarian crises? How and why has there been such controversy over the legal justifications for these military operations? Has greater consensus been possible over force in global counterterrorism? What do all these controversies tell us about international rule-making? More specifically, how can we understand Russian political and diplomatic responses during international crises around major interventions? This book argues that Russia has been influential in these debates on norms and law as a permanent United Nations Security Council member and as a major military power. Moscow's approach to these questions has reflected distinctive and quite entrenched attitudes to international order and sovereignty, as well as a preoccupation with its own status. The book draws deeply on Russian sources to show how these attitudes are expressed among the Russian leadership and the political elite. This raises challenging questions about the ability of Russia and Western states to cooperate in emerging crises, in Syria, Iran, or elsewhere and about Russia's role in international society.

This book gives a detailed and precise analysis of the rise of Russian foreign policy in this decade. Russia's military interventions in Ukraine from 2014, and Syria from 2015, caused widespread surprise among Western policy communities including the United States. However, these interventions represented the culmination of two well-established trends that had been clearly identified by Russia-watchers over preceding years. These were first, a mounting perception of direct threat against Russia from the West, and second, Russia's own greatly increased capability for military or other action to respond to this perceived threat. In addition to the examination of Russia's use of military force in Ukraine and Syria, this book gives a complete insight into Russian diplomacy by analyzing the interference into the U.S. presidential elections, engagement with Latin America and interests in Sub-Saharan Africa. Contents: The Rise of Russia's Strength Prehistory Threat Perception Instability Before Libya The Arab Spring Libya Information Warfare Exclusion of Russia The Near Abroad Syria—2013 Syria—2015 Russia Is Back Outlook and Implications Summary of Policy Recommendations The Muscovite Mindset Russian Interference Into the U.S. Presidential Elections Description Technical Details Injection Flaws Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerabilities Server Vulnerabilities Recommended Mitigations Detailed Mitigation Strategies Russian Engagement With Latin America Country-by-Country Impacts on the Region and on the United States Recommendations for U.S. Leadership Russian Interests in Sub-Saharan Africa History Russia's Presence Today — Political Priorities Economic Aims Resource Interests — Minerals Resource Interests - Energy Trade Arms Trade Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa Implications for U.S. Policy Outlook

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.

Alex Schmid's survey of Soviet postwar military interventions, supplemented with case studies by Ellen Berends, fills a void in providing data to the current discussion on Soviet expansionism. Defining military intervention in a broader sense than "regular troops engaged in combat abroad," Schmid chronicles the various forms Soviet interventions assumed in three different contexts: intrabloc interventions--against client states of the Soviet Union; interbloc interventions--against core Western nations; and extrabloc interventions--in the Third World. The alleged and real role of client states is analyzed critically and juxtaposed with examples of joint Western interventions. The ten case studies include not only such well-known examples as Afghanistan (1979-), Czechoslovakia (1968), Hungary (1956), and East Germany (1953), but also deal with the incorporation of the Baltic states (1944-), the Greek civil war (1944-), the Iranian crisis (1945-46), the Austrian occupation (1945-55), the Korean War (1950-53), and the Sino-Soviet border dispute (1960s). From the analysis of Soviet foreign military policies a picture emerges that emphasizes the role of pull factors that transform military assistance into military in tervention. By drawing attention to the successes as well as the numerous failures of Soviet military adventures in the Third World, this timely study is likely to give both the believers in a Soviet "grand design for world domination" and those who see the Soviet Union as an essentially conservative power an opportunity to reconsider their respective positions. Drawing from a wide range of literature on Soviet military activity, this is the most concise study presently available. In a concluding chapter, "The Future of Soviet Military Interventions," Schmid draws attention to the likelihood of continued Soviet interventions.