During the Soviet period, Islam was largely ignored in Moscow and viewed as a bourgeois phenomenon which would fade over time. Nowadays, from the ongoing conflict in Chechnya to recent upheavals in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Islamic militancy has become a major security threat to Russia. Mike Bowker examines the newly emerging relationship between Russia and the United States and their struggle against the common threat of international terrorism. He looks at the difficulties of such a relationship by analyzing the lingering mutual suspicion, differing views on the nature of the global terrorist threat and how each side has continued to pursue their own national interests. Students and scholars of international relations and Russian foreign policy will find this book particularly useful.
Biography
Mike Bowker is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of East Anglia, UK.
'...a penetrating, comprehensive and yet accessible study of Russian-US relations in the war on terror era. This book should be essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the interplay between these old Cold War rivals and a resurgent Islam in the Twenty First Century'. Lee Marsden, Oxford Brookes University, UK '...an authoritative and comprehensive, yet concise and succinct overview of US-Soviet/Russian relations through the prism of various crises and conflicts involving one or both these powers across the Islamic world...Each chapter case provides a balanced treatment of its subject, generally raises the most important issues indigenous to each, and avoids clichés and false assumptions.' The Russian Review 'Bowker's book tackles an extremely broad and complicated subject with simple and lucid language and the author makes a generally sincere and successful effort to remain objective despite the polarized political debates. The book would be valuable reading for anyone seeking an introduction to Russian foreign policy and modern international affairs.' The Slavonic and East European Review
