Introduction: understanding conflict in the former USSR

This book evaluates the nature, causes and implications of conflicts in the geographical space formerly occupied by the USSR. It does so in the context of current debates in the international relations literature regarding the role of power, interests, technological forces, and normative issues as major drivers of contemporary political violence. Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has attempted to maintain a sphere of influence on what was once the territory of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Whether in the 2008 Russo-Georgian conflict; the wars in Chechnya; struggles over resources with Ukraine; disputes in Central Asia over ethnicity; or in latent conflicts that are aided by terrorism and corruption, the former Soviet space remains an under-evaluated area in the literature on contemporary conflict. With new issues such as energy security and transnational crime gaining in saliency, and older tensions between East and West deepening once more, it is vital that security specialists pay closer attention to this region of the world.