Russia's war on everybody and what it means for you; The Russia conundrum: how the West fell for Putin's power gambit—and how to fix it

Abstract

The two books under review were published at a time when all eyes were on Russia's war in Ukraine. Yet the authors wrote most of the chapters before the war began in February 2022. The ongoing invasion of Ukraine further confirms some of the key assessments and conclusions that can be found in Russia's war on everybody and The Russia conundrum. Western countries have only recently been forced to start rethinking their policies towards Moscow. Yet both authors provide a longer-term nuanced and complex overview of how Russia has been waging war against the West for decades—albeit without rolling tanks on western soil—and the extent to which the West has greatly underestimated the threat. The war in Ukraine is the most brutal and direct manifestation of Vladimir Putin's intentions. Yet, Keir Giles clearly demonstrates that Russia has been waging a war against everybody, defining ‘its own security through being able to do damage to other countries’ (p. xvi). For decades, the West has found it incredibly difficult to respond to undeclared attacks from Moscow. Hence, operating below the threshold, Russia has quietly become everyone's problem. Giles convincingly argues that every segment of a society can fall within Moscow's interest. With a wealth of examples, the author unpacks the Russian strategy to divide and rule: Moscow exploits vulnerable and sensitive issues to inflame hatred and deepen societal divisions in the West, and ultimately to shake the bloc's unity and resilience in the face of a common threat. According to Giles, closing off such vulnerabilities may limit Russia's manoeuvring and ability both to confuse western policy-makers and to take advantage of their confusion to inflict harm.