Russia Against the Rest

This book examines how Putin's Russia emerged as one of the great powers, demanding recognition of its status in international politics.

This book explores how the tension between Russia and the Atlantic community mirrored a fundamental realignment of the international system from the late 1980s onwards. A valuable new resource for students and scholars of Russian politics, international relations, European politics and security studies.In this book Richard Sakwa provides a new analysis of the end of the Cold War and the subsequent failure to create a comprehensive and inclusive peace order in Europe. The end of the Cold War did not create a sustainable peace system. Instead, for a quarter of a century a 'cold peace' reflected the tension between cooperative and competitive behaviour. None of the fundamental problems of European security were resolved, and tensions accumulated. In 2014 the crisis exploded in the form of conflict in Ukraine, provoking what some call a 'new Cold War'. Russia against the Rest challenges the view that this is a replay of the old conflict, explaining how the tensions between Russia and the Atlantic community reflect a global realignment of the international system. Sakwa provides a balanced and carefully researched analysis of the trajectory of European and global politics since the late 1980s.