Russia and Europe : the emerging security agenda /

The result of a three-year project of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the book focuses on the security issues of post-Soviet Russian and European relations. With essays written by more than two dozen authors, the volume is surprisingly coherent. The first half is devoted to general themes--the security context (including its military aspects), domestic political developments, and debates on Russia's national interests. The second half addresses Russian interests by region--the Slav states, the Baltic and Northern Europe, East Central Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and (at greatest length) relations with Europe in terms of security and economic issues. The SIPRI project was begun when the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and a particularly important aspect of the presentation is that each topic is addressed by both a Russian and a non-Russian expert. Nearly all of the authors are well known in the field, many serving as directors of various think tanks in the West or in Russia, with considerable lists of publications to their credit. Russian policy makers participated in the project as both discussants and authors. Although there is no bibliography, the essays are well footnoted, showing the use of Russian as well as Western sources. The book is strongly recommended not only to scholars but also to general readers and students, lower-division undergraduate and above. R. P. Peters; University of Massachusetts at Boston