Yelena Novikova

The Munich Speech of Putin: a New Cold War Offensive or Struggle for Survival? Yelena Novikova

At the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy, Putin gave a speech that seemingly divided the world. While some sided with the US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, thinking that ?one Cold War was quite enough?, others agreed with Putin's aide, Sergei Yastrzhembsky claiming that it was more of a ?Cold Shower?. When one's new Churchill, who drops the Iron Curtain is another's new Wilson, who draws attention to the ills of international system, emotions are clearly brought into the analytical process on both sides. This book, therefore, takes a constructivist approach to assess the connection between Russian Policy assertiveness of the decade and its possible effects on international security situation by examining varied perspectives against the factual base. Is Russian foreign policy since Putin an attempt to challenge the systemic status quo and, consequently, a global security threat? Or is it just a realist pattern of normal international behavior in anarchic environment? This book takes on a journey to identify the equilibrium perspective.