Russian Strategy in the Middle East and North Africa - (Russian Strategy and Power) by Derek Averre (Hardcover)

About the Book

The book analyses Russia's political and economic interests in the Middle East and North Africa, its relations with the MENA countries and its diplomatic engagement with the Western powers.

Book Synopsis

The book analyses Russia's political and economic interests in the Middle East and North Africa, its relations with the MENA countries and its diplomatic engagement with the Western powers. It examines Russia's strategy in the region, including its role in the Syria conflict, in the context of its broader foreign policy and war with Ukraine.

From the Back Cover

Russian strategy in the Middle East and North Africa presents a detailed critique of Russia's strategy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the turbulent period since the Arab uprisings in 2011. It examines the key political and security challenges faced by Russia in the MENA region in the context both of its own domestic politics and of a changing international system.

Drawing on extensive primary source material as well as writing by Russian, Western and MENA experts, the book explore Russia's relations with the MENA regional states and the involvement of the US, Europe and China in MENA affairs; Russia's military intervention in the Syrian civil war; and how Vladimir Putin's leadership and domestic power structures shape Russia's decision-making. It further covers Russia's contest with the liberal Western powers over international norms pertaining to sovereignty, the use of force, humanitarian assistance and the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect; Russia's response to the challenges posed by Islamist extremism; and Russia's political-military and economic interests in the MENA region.

The volume responds to the surge of interest in Russia's more assertive foreign policy following its military interventions in Syria and Ukraine, offering a valuable and original account of Russian thinking and decision-making in an important region that continues to involve the major external powers.

Review Quotes

'Averre's monograph is one of the few books I consider to be essential for understanding the complexity of Russia's relationship with the Middle East.'
Mark N. Katz, Professor Emeritus, George Mason University

'Averre's important work shows how Russia's complex, multi-faceted strategy in the Middle East and North Africa is often misunderstood by Western commentators. The book is essential reading for "getting Russia right".'
James Nixey, Former Director, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House

'The importance of understanding Russia's transformational involvement in the MENA region, which is marked by proxy conflicts, shifting alliances and normative struggles over sovereignty, cannot be overestimated. Derek Averre's new book offers a persuasive account of the security interests as well as the regional and domestic dynamics that shaped Russia's MENA policy, from its response to the Arab Spring to its relations with a network of regional, external and non-state actors... As a result, the book offers a comprehensive account of Russian decision-making and a far more layered account than those centred on material capabilities, international norms or authoritarian opportunism alone.'
Kalina Zhekova, International Affairs

'The author demonstrates the fragility of often dominant perspectives, such as the view that Russian strategy is solely driven by a desire to restore its international status to Soviet-era levels. Averre shows how such simplistic interpretations fail to capture the broader spectrum of internal and external, structural and contingent, factors that influence and define the Russian approach.'
Nicolò Murgia, The International Spectator

CHOICE Recommended: Graduate students and faculty.
'Russian Strategy in the Middle East and North Africa is a valuable contribution to the literature on Russia's foreign policy... Averre (Univ. of Birmingham, England) forgoes analyzing Russian actions through a single foreign policy lens, instead using an eclectic, analytical approach to explain Russian foreign policy in the region since 2011. The study employs four explanatory factors: structural power, the Russian elite's conceptions of international norms, domestic politics, and Vladimir Putin's agency. The result is a rich and detailed account of the motivations of Russian action... With recent developments in Syria, the book is crucial for understanding how unfolding events may affect Russia's interests in the region.'
--J. R. Clardie, Northwest Nazarene University

About the Author

Derek Averre is Honorary Reader at the University of Birmingham