Russia as a great power dimensions of security under Putin

"After a period of relative weakness and isolation during most of the 1990s, Russia is again appearing as a major security player in world politics. This book provides a comprehensive assessment of Russia's current security situation, addressing such questions as: What kind of a player is Russia in the field of security? What is the essence of its security policy? What are the sources, capabilities and priorities of its security policy? What are the prospects for the future? One important conclusion to emerge is that, while Russian foreign policy under Putin has become more pragmatic and responsive to both problems and opportunities, the growing lack of checks and balances in domestic politics makes political integration with the West difficult and gives the president great freedom in applying Russia's growing power abroad."
"The motivation for this book is the need for a renewed analysis of Russia, which, after a period of relative weakness and instability during most ofthe 1990s, has again reappeared in world politics as a major securityplayer, claiming the status of a great power. This is partly due to the factthat, with the advent of Vladimir Putin as president, Russia gainedincreased political stability, and partly because the Russian economystarted to show steady growth. Russia made skilful use of the policywindows of opportunity that were opened to it as a consequence of theterrorist attacks in the United Sta."@en