This thoughtful and balanced text examines the development of Russian foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. Jeffrey Mankoff argues that Russia’s more assertive behavior since Vladimir Putin became president in 2000 has resulted from both a deep-seated consensus among its elite about Russia’s identity and interests as well as a favorable convergence of events—including the persistence of high energy prices and the check on U.S. power resulting from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because these factors are the result of long-term trends, the author argues that there is little reason to expect that the election of Dmitry Medvedev will fundamentally alter Russian foreign policy behavior.

Presenting an even-handed treatment of controversial issues, Mankoff analyzes Russia’s interactions with major global actors, including the United States, the European Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and China. Despite Moscow’s often harsh rhetoric and the deployment of Russian forces against Georgia in 2008, the author convincingly demonstrates that there is little reason to fear a return to a Cold War–like standoff with the West. Instead, he argues, today’s Russia is more interested in restoring what its leaders consider to be its rightful place among the world’s major powers rather than in directly challenging the West. Thoroughly researched and knowledgeable, this book will be invaluable for all students of Russia.

“The analysis is balanced and rich.”
—Foreign Affairs

“It was refreshing to read a book that was so well-written. Using both Western and Russian sources, the author carefully researches and  analyzes controversial issues in Russian foreign policy, but does so in  an evenhanded and nuanced way.”
—Gordon B. Smith, University of South Carolina

“With this book, Jeffrey Mankoff has established himself as the best young American analyst of post–Cold War Russia. This careful and clear assessment of Putin’s grand strategy should be required reading for the Obama administration, as well as for anyone else interested in Russia’s rapid but fragile resurgence as a great power in twenty-first-century world politics.”
—John Lewis Gaddis, Yale University

“Jeffrey Mankoff’s analysis of Russia’s foreign policy is a serious and well-researched exercise in understanding the complexities of a country still in search of its post-communist, post-imperial identity. Russia is no longer on a path to Western integration; but it still struggles with what it means to be a great power in the twenty-first century.”
—Dmitri Trenin, Carnegie Moscow Center

Jeffrey Mankoff is adjunct fellow for Russia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and associate director of International Security Studies at Yale University.