Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest over Ukraine and the Caucasus

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Gerard Toal (Professor of Government and International Affairs, Professor of Government and International Affairs, Virginia Tech)

Near Abroad

Putin, the West and the Contest over Ukraine and the Caucasus

Gerard Toal (Professor of Government and International Affairs, Professor of Government and International Affairs, Virginia Tech)

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English

Oxford University Press
13 February 2017

History; Comparative politics; Political structure & processes; Political leaders & leadership; Political geography

In Near Abroad, the eminent political geographer Gerard Toal analyzes Russia's recent offensive actions in the 'near abroad,' focusing in particular on the ways in which both the West and Russia have relied on Cold War-era rhetorical and emotional tropes that distort as much as they clarify.

In response to Russian aggression, US critics quickly turned to tried-and-true concepts like 'spheres of influence' - a term that has a strong association with the 'iron curtain' and 'Yalta' - to condemn the Kremlin. Russia in turn has regularly reached back to its long tradition of criticizing western liberalism and degeneracy to grandly rationalize its behavior in what are essentially local border skirmishes.

It is this tendency to resort to the frames of earlier eras that has led the conflicts to 'jump scales,' moving from the regional to the global level in short order. An equally important set of contributors to this scalar leap are the ambiguities and contradictions that result when nations marshal traditional geopolitical arguments - rooted in geography, territory, and old understandings of distance - in an era in which extreme time-space compression has eroded the very concept of geographical distance.

Indeed, Russia's belligerence toward Georgia stemmed from concern about its possible entry into NATO, an organization of states thousands of miles away. American hawks also strained credulity by portraying Georgia as a nearby ally in need of assistance. Similarly, the threat of NATO to the Ukraine looms large in the Kremlin's thinking, and many Ukrainians themselves self-identify with the West despite their location in Eastern Europe.

In sum, by showing how and why local regional disputes quickly escalate into global crises through the paired power of historical memory and time-space compression, Near Abroad will reshape our understanding of the current conflict raging in the center of the Eurasian landmass - the place that the nineteenth century geographer Halford McKinder memorably described as "the geographical pivot of history" - and international politics as a whole.

By: Gerard Toal (Professor of Government and International Affairs Professor of Government and International Affairs Virginia Tech)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 160mm, Width: 239mm, Spine: 36mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780190253301
ISBN 10: 0190253304
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 13 February 2017
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Gerard Toal is Professor of Government and International Affairs and Director of the Masters of Public and International Affairs program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's National Capital Region campus in Alexandria.

Reviews for Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest over Ukraine and the Caucasus

Near Abroad eloquently challenges three geopolitical frames employed in Western geopolitical culture referring to the current standoff with Russia. * Joanna Rak, Geopolitics *