Putin's War in Syria: Russian Foreign Policy and the Price of America's Absence

Hardcover – November 4, 2021

Putin intervened in Syria in September 2015, with international critics predicting that Russia would

overextend itself and Barack Obama suggesting the country would find itself in a “quagmire” in Syria.

Contrary to this, Anna Borshchevskaya argues that in fact Putin achieved significant key domestic and

foreign policy objectives without crippling costs, and is well-positioned to direct Syria's future and become

a leading power in the Middle East.

This outcome has serious implications for Western foreign policy interests both in the Middle East and

beyond. This book places Russian intervention in Syria in this broader context, exploring Putin's overall

approach to the Middle East – historically Moscow has a special relationship with Damascus – and traces

the political, diplomatic, military and domestic aspects of this intervention. Borshchevskaya delves into

the Russian military campaign, public opinion within Russia, as well as Russian diplomatic tactics at the

United Nations. Crucially, this book illustrates the impact of Western absence in Syria, particularly US

absence, and what the role of the West is, and could be, in the Middle East.