Mark Grzegorzewski – författare

The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Implications for the Central Region addresses national security threats and strategic opportunities for the United States and its allies in the Middle East and Central Asia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Recognizing that integrated deterrence is not constrained by geography or domain, this book focuses on the complex threats and challenges confronting U.S. national security and foreign policy in a post-Ukraine invasion environment. That is to say, what happens in Ukraine does not stay in Ukraine. It affects everyone from the region to the cyberspace domain to people on the other side of the world, due to changes in commodity prices.

Specifically, this volume explores how revised analyses of Russia may alter U.S. and allied strategies in a shifting international system and within the framing of strategic competition. Experts in this volume examine how the war in Ukraine will influence Russian strategy and foreign policy in the Middle East, Central Asia, and globally; what effect the Ukraine invasion could have on global and regional geopolitics and geoeconomics; and the United States’ ability to protect national interests in the Central Region. The reasons for this are multiple and complex.

In this volume, we explore many issues that have confounded security experts by asking questions such as: What happens after the Russian invasion? What lessons did the U.S., Ukraine, NATO, and the European Union learn about Russia? What lessons did Russia learn about itself and its military after the Ukraine invasion? What lessons did the U.S. learn in Afghanistan that apply to Ukraine? Why was the initial analysis of the Russian invasion so wrong? How has power shifted in the international system since the Ukraine invasion? How has the security environment shifted since the Ukraine invasion? For the U.S. to continue supporting its partners in the Middle East and Central Asia, it must anticipate what new opportunities will arise from Russia’s missteps in Ukraine. The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Implications for the Central Region addresses these challenges and opportunities and informs policymakers on the changing contours of the Great Power Competition.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) represents a monumental shift in the global power landscape. Through ambitious infrastructure projects and strategic economic investments, China has emerged as a formidable challenger to U.S. dominance in the modern Great Power Competition (GPC), leveraging a unique blend of soft power and non-interference policy. This distinctive strategy has allowed China to rapidly gain footholds in resource rich regions such as Central Asia-South Asia (CASA) and the Middle East, compelling the U.S. to rethink its foreign policy approach in response. Given China’s adept leveraging of soft power in these geostrategic regions, the critical question arises: how can the U.S. meet the nuanced challenges of the modern GPC?

The Great Power Competition Volume 6: The Rise of China delves into China’s calculated rise, exploring how the BRI has captivated nations spanning pivotal regions, entrenching Chinese influence across critical sectors. This edited volume brings together distinguished global experts and thought leaders to provide comprehensive analyses of China’s expanding influence across economic, political, technological, and security domains. The collection of essays offers critical insights and recommendations for navigating the modern-day great power competition in an era defined by China’s ascent. The book highlights China’s BRI brand diplomacy and its strategic use of soft power and non-interference policy to reshape the geopolitical landscape. The authors’ final analyses underscore that in the modern era of the GPC, strategic competition and soft power are deeply intertwined.