Bilyana Lily, “Russian Foreign Policy toward Missile Defense” (Lexington Books, 2014)

The current conflict in Ukraine has reopened old wounds and brought the complexity of Russia’s relationship with the United States and Europe to the forefront. One of the most important factors in relations between the Kremlin and the West has been the issue of Ballistic Missile Defense, particularly as a result of American plans to develop a Missile Defense Shield with installations in Eastern Europe. Bilyana Lilly, an expert on Eurasian affairs and security, has written the most comprehensive study available on Russia’s Ballistic Missile Defense policies. In the course of her book Russian Foreign Policy toward Missile Defense: Actors, Motivations, and Influence (Lexington Books, 2014), drawing on a huge array of media sources as well as interviews, she demonstrates how these policies serve as a barometer for measuring US-Russia and US-NATO relations, as well as how they illustrate the complex interplay of factions and forces among Russia’s elite. As relations between Russia and the West continue to worsen, a thorough examination of how BMD policies have affected both Russia’s relations with the outside world and served as a tool for domestic political considerations could not be timelier.

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