The Russian Understanding of War

This book provides much needed context and analysis to be able to understand recent Russian interventions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, how to deter Russia on the eastern borders of NATO, and how the West must also learn to avoid inadvertent escalation. * Irish Tech News * This book provides much needed context and analysis to be able to understand recent Russian interventions in Crimea and and eastern Ukraine and how to deter Russia on the Eastern borders of NATO. * Eye Spy Magazine * The ... book offers an efficient overview of trends in Russian military thought since the collapse of the Soviet Union paired with detailed examinations of the two major subjects that have defined those trends: information warfare and color revolutions. * Strategy Bridge * In this well-documented review of Russia's understanding of war, Jonsson provides an insightful analysis of the profound differences between Western and Russian perceptions of key 21st-century global events. * Choice * While many geopolitical works superimpose (albeit often subconsciously) the assumptions of the analyst upon that which is being analyzed (mirror imaging), The Russian Understanding of War seeks to pierce Moscow's strategic calculus and the "nuances of the Russian language" ... to answer the question, "Has the Russian understanding of the nature of war changed, and if so, how?" * Strategic Studies Quarterly * Oscar Jonsson's The Russian Understanding of War is a valuable addition to the corpus of knowledge on Russia's military thinking about war. * Joint Forces Quarterly * Jonsson offers an interesting illumination of Russian thinking. * RUSI * Drawing on a systematic and exhaustive reading of Russian doctrinal documents and military theory, Jonsson's thesis is simple: the Russian military's conception has fundamentally changed in the last decade. * Russian Review * What this timely and well-researched book does is nicely encapsulate both change and continuity in Russian military doctrine and capabilities, sum- marizing the most influential thinkers within Russia and drawing from primary documents. * Political Science Quarterly * The Russian Understanding of War is an excellent work for anyone looking to understand Russian perspectives on the nature of conflict. * Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) * The Russian Understanding of War brings important light to several intersecting and imperfectly understood topics about Russian strategic thought, as well as about the Kremlin's perspective about and use of information warfare. The book is well structured for addressing its complex subject matter in earnest. This is a valuable addition to the literature on twenty-first-century security issues. * H-Net *

Oscar Jonsson is during 2019 Director of the Stockholm Free World Forum (Frivarld), a Swedish foreign and security policy think tank, and associated researcher at the Swedish Defence University. Previously, he was a subject-matter expert at the Policy and Plans Department at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. Jonsson holds a PhD from the Department of War Studies, King's College London.

Introduction 1 The Soviet Understanding of War Soviet Military Science The Cause of War The Nature of War War as an Instrument of Politics Evgeny Messner Conclusion 2 The Russian Understanding of War after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union The 1990s: Continuity The 2000s: Confusion The 2010s: Change Conclusion 3 Information Warfare The Information Security Doctrines Information-Technical Warfare Information-Psychological Warfare Conclusion 4 Color Revolutions The Political View The Military View Conclusion Conclusion Policy Implications References IndexAbout the Author