Crisis in the Caucasus Russia, Georgia and the West [Hardcover]

This collection of essays by a series of academic specialists examines the crisis stemming from the Russian invasion of Georgia in August 2008 from a range of standpoints. The chapters probe the geopolitical and strategic dimensions of the crisis as well as the longer term military and diplomatic implications for Europe and the central Asian region. The collection will be of major importance to students of Russia and Eastern Europe, military analysts as well as journalists and politicians concerned with what some observers have termed a new cold war between Russia and the West.

This book was published as a special issue of Small Wars and Insurgencies.

1. Introduction: The Global Significance of a Small War  Paul B. Rich  2. The Russian state and great power politics  Paul B. Rich  3. The Putin state and the debate on the use of force in international relations  Yuri Zhukov  4. Georgia as an issue in Russian foreign policy  Peter Shearman  5. The Russian use of cybernetic warfare  David Betz  6. The Media and the Georgian conflict  Margarita Akhvlediani  7. Oil Pipe Lines and the Georgian Crisis  Tracey German8. Caucasus and Balkans in the midst of imperial discourses, national narratives and literary texts  Zaza Shatirishvili  9. The Georgia Crisis and Western strategic options  Stephen Blank  10. Russias war in Georgia: Lessons and consequences  Fredrik Westerlund and Carolina Vendill Pallinn  11. The Bear Came Through the Tunnel: An Analysis of Georgian Planning and Operations in the Russo-Georgian War and Implications for U.S. PolicylC|