Tuomas Forsberg – författare

This book focusses on Russia’s cultural statecraft in dealing with a number of institutional cultural domains such as education, museums and monuments, high arts and sport. It analyses to what extent Russia’s cultural activities abroad have been used for foreign policy purposes, and perceived as having a political dimension.Building on the concept of cultural statecraft, the authors present a broad and nuanced view of how Russia sees the role of culture in its external relations, how this shapes the image of Russia, and the ways in which this cultural statecraft is received by foreign audiences. The expert team of contributors consider: what choices are made in fostering this agenda; how Russian state authorities see the purpose and limits of various cultural instruments; to what extent can the authorities shape these instruments; what domains have received more attention and become more politicised and what fields have remained more autonomous. The methodological research design of the book as a whole is a comparative case study comparing the nature of Russian cultural statecraft across time, target countries and diverse cultural domains.It will be of interest to scholars and students of Russian foreign policy and external relations and those working on the role of culture in world politics.

This book focusses on Russia’s cultural statecraft in dealing with a number of institutional cultural domains such as education, museums and monuments, high arts and sport. It analyses to what extent Russia’s cultural activities abroad have been used for foreign policy purposes, and perceived as having a political dimension.Building on the concept of cultural statecraft, the authors present a broad and nuanced view of how Russia sees the role of culture in its external relations, how this shapes the image of Russia, and the ways in which this cultural statecraft is received by foreign audiences. The expert team of contributors consider: what choices are made in fostering this agenda; how Russian state authorities see the purpose and limits of various cultural instruments; to what extent can the authorities shape these instruments; what domains have received more attention and become more politicised and what fields have remained more autonomous. The methodological research design of the book as a whole is a comparative case study comparing the nature of Russian cultural statecraft across time, target countries and diverse cultural domains.It will be of interest to scholars and students of Russian foreign policy and external relations and those working on the role of culture in world politics.

Debating the War in Ukraine discusses whether the war could have been avoided, and, if so, how? In this dialogical book, the authors discuss nodal points of history in terms of counterfactuals and contrastive explanations, concluding by considering future possibilities.They start in the 1990s where several causal elements of the war originate involving Russia’s economic developments and Europe’s security arrangements. Moving on to the next decade, they focus on the Iraq war, colour revolutions, and NATO’s 2008 announcement that Ukraine and Georgia will become members. Finally, they explore the past decade including the Ukrainian crisis of 2013–2014, the annexation of Crimea, and the consecutive war in east Ukraine. The current war can also be seen as a continuum of that war. The authors agree that NATO’s 2008 announcement on Ukraine’s and Georgia’s NATO membership was an unnecessary provocation, and that the implementation of the Minsk agreement could have prevented the current war, but otherwise their analysis of counterfactual possibilities differs, especially when it comes to the action-possibilities of the West (including diverse actors). These differences are not just dependent on different readings of relevant evidence but, importantly, stem from dissimilar contrast spaces and divergent theoretical understandings of the nature of states and mechanisms of international relations and political economy.This short, highly accessible book will be of great interest to all those studying and working in international relations and its various subfields such as peace and conflict studies and security studies, as well as all those wishing to understand more about the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. The Open Access version of this book was funded by University of Helsinki Library.

Debating the War in Ukraine discusses whether the war could have been avoided, and, if so, how? In this dialogical book, the authors discuss nodal points of history in terms of counterfactuals and contrastive explanations, concluding by considering future possibilities.They start in the 1990s where several causal elements of the war originate involving Russia’s economic developments and Europe’s security arrangements. Moving on to the next decade, they focus on the Iraq war, colour revolutions, and NATO’s 2008 announcement that Ukraine and Georgia will become members. Finally, they explore the past decade including the Ukrainian crisis of 2013–2014, the annexation of Crimea, and the consecutive war in east Ukraine. The current war can also be seen as a continuum of that war. The authors agree that NATO’s 2008 announcement on Ukraine’s and Georgia’s NATO membership was an unnecessary provocation, and that the implementation of the Minsk agreement could have prevented the current war, but otherwise their analysis of counterfactual possibilities differs, especially when it comes to the action-possibilities of the West (including diverse actors). These differences are not just dependent on different readings of relevant evidence but, importantly, stem from dissimilar contrast spaces and divergent theoretical understandings of the nature of states and mechanisms of international relations and political economy.This short, highly accessible book will be of great interest to all those studying and working in international relations and its various subfields such as peace and conflict studies and security studies, as well as all those wishing to understand more about the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. The Open Access version of this book was funded by University of Helsinki Library.

This important text provides readers with a systematic and comprehensive overview of the historic and ever-evolving relationship between Russia and the European Union, and on that basis discusses what the future of relations could look like. The EU's policy towards Russia can be regarded as one of the toughest tests of the credibility of its external relations, and in examining the dynamics of the relationship, this book poses essential questions about the EU's ability to sustain itself as a meaningful entity in world politics. Written by two experts in the field, it analyses the political and institutional development of EU-Russia relations from three perspectives: European studies, Russian studies and International Relations, including Foreign Policy Analysis.The relationship between the European Union and Russia is of considerable importance to both partners, but whilst there have been many moments of co-operation between the two, tensions have never been far from the surface and the conflict over Ukraine brought it to a historical nadir. Both have taken steps to strengthen their relationship, but diplomatic stagnation and the challenge of furthering common economic, political, social, and environmental objectives have proved increasingly testing to relations over time.This important text provides readers with a systematic and comprehensive overview of the historic and ever-evolving relationship between Russia and the European Union, suitable for students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in European Studies, Russian Studies and International Relations theory.

This important text provides readers with a systematic and comprehensive overview of the historic and ever-evolving relationship between Russia and the European Union, and on that basis discusses what the future of relations could look like. The EU's policy towards Russia can be regarded as one of the toughest tests of the credibility of its external relations, and in examining the dynamics of the relationship, this book poses essential questions about the EU's ability to sustain itself as a meaningful entity in world politics. Written by two experts in the field, it analyses the political and institutional development of EU-Russia relations from three perspectives: European studies, Russian studies and International Relations, including Foreign Policy Analysis.The relationship between the European Union and Russia is of considerable importance to both partners, but whilst there have been many moments of co-operation between the two, tensions have never been far from the surface and the conflict over Ukraine brought it to a historical nadir. Both have taken steps to strengthen their relationship, but diplomatic stagnation and the challenge of furthering common economic, political, social, and environmental objectives have proved increasingly testing to relations over time.This important text provides readers with a systematic and comprehensive overview of the historic and ever-evolving relationship between Russia and the European Union, suitable for students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in European Studies, Russian Studies and International Relations theory.

This book analyses the genesis and process through which transatlantic strategic dissonance now defines a divided West. It contends that constructive strategic dissonance has the potential to best manage a complex and pressing global security agenda. Reflects on the bitter disputes that have crystallized across the Atlantic after 9/11 and the rise of terrorist, WMD and failed state threats. Structured around the concepts of ‘Atlantic’, ‘Core’, ‘New’ ‘Non-aligned’ and ‘Periphery’ Europe that have emerged in the wake of these disputes. Identifies the trends and factors that have driven and could further propel the Euro-Atlantic security community towards different futures. Analyses the security policy implications of each scenario for states within this region.

This book analyses the genesis and process through which transatlantic strategic dissonance now defines a divided West. It contends that constructive strategic dissonance has the potential to best manage a complex and pressing global security agenda. Reflects on the bitter disputes that have crystallized across the Atlantic after 9/11 and the rise of terrorist, WMD and failed state threats. Structured around the concepts of ‘Atlantic’, ‘Core’, ‘New’ ‘Non-aligned’ and ‘Periphery’ Europe that have emerged in the wake of these disputes. Identifies the trends and factors that have driven and could further propel the Euro-Atlantic security community towards different futures. Analyses the security policy implications of each scenario for states within this region.

Europe’s security environment was fundamentally altered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which gave fresh impetus to states to apply for NATO membership. This book, written by leading experts on European defence, analyses NATO’s northern expansion, detailing the unique dynamics that forged Finland and Sweden’s path to NATO membership. The book uses resources in Swedish, Finnish and English to offer a balanced study of both political and military aspects of NATO enlargement. Exploring the pressing issues that NATO will need to tackle, particularly in Northern Europe, the book considers the potential repercussions the newest round of NATO enlargement will have on European and global security.

In Contested Territory a distinguished group of scholars analyses border issues stemming from the expansion of the former Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War. This important book offers detailed discussion and comparative analysis of eight potential or actual world politics border disputes at a time of great upheaval for the former Soviet Union when territorial issues are reemerging on the political agendas. The authors offer explanations for the rise of border disputes which emphasize the normative dimension rather than power politics. They also show how annexed border regions with their own distinct histories have developed regional identities within the former Soviet Union. The book's extensive coverage includes the most systematic expert analysis presently available on territorial disputes concerning Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, Carpatho-Ukraine, Eastern Poland, East Prussia, Abrene, the East of Narva and Petserimaa, Karelia and the Kurile Islands. No other volume provides such a wealth of information on boundary and territorial disputes in Europe and the former Soviet Union within a theorectical framework. Contested Territory will be welcomed as a major contribution to our understanding of the recent history of the Soviet Union and the long-term problems raised by outstanding disputes over its boundaries.

This book focuses on foreign policy decision-making from the viewpoint of psychology.

This book focuses on foreign policy decision-making from the viewpoint of psychology.