Russia's Security Policy under Putin
A critical perspective
CSS Studies in Security and International Relations Series

This book examines the evolution of Russia?s security policy under Putin in the 21st century, using a critical security studies approach.

Drawing on critical approaches to security the book investigates the interrelationship between the internal-external nexus and the politics of (in)security and regime-building in Putin?s Russia. In so doing, it evaluates the way that this evolving relationship between state identities and security discourses framed the construction of individual security policies, and how, in turn, individual issues can impact on the meta-discourses of state and security agendas. To this end, the (de)securitisation discourses and practices towards the issue of Chechnya are examined as a case study.

In so doing, this study has wider implications for how we read Russia as a security actor through an approach that emphasises the importance of taking into account its security culture, the interconnection between internal/external security priorities and the dramatic changes that have taken place in Russia?s conceptions of itself, national and security priorities and conceptualisation of key security issues, in this case Chechnya. These aspects of Russia?s security agenda remain somewhat of a neglected area of research, but, as argued in this book, offer structuring and framing implications for how we understand Russia?s position towards security issues, and perhaps those of rising powers more broadly.

This book will be of much interest to students of Russian security, critical security studies and IR.

1. Introduction 2. Analysing security in a non-Western context Part I: 1999-2000 3. Russia in crisis 1999/2000 4. Russia’s number one threat: the securitisation of Chechnya Part II: 2000-2004 5. The Rebuilding of Russia 6. The ‘normalisation’ of Chechnya Part III: 2004-2008 7. Russia as a strong state and a great power? 8. A ‘rebuilt’ Chechnya in a securitised North Caucasus? Part IV: 2008-2014 9. Modernisation, resecuritisation and patriotic fervour: Medvedev and Putin 10. Russia’s policy towards the North Caucasus and Chechnya 11. Conclusion

Aglaya Snetov is Senior Researcher, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and has a PhD in Russian and East European studies from the University of Birmingham.