March 2014 - Paperback - Rowman and Littlefield - $29.95
Pages: 288

This book offers the first systematic analysis of Putin's two wars, placing the Second Chechen War and the War with Georgia of 2008 in their broader historical context. Drawing on extensive original Russian sources, Marcel H. Van Herpen analyzes in detail how Putin's wars were prepared and conducted, and why they led to allegations of war crimes and genocide. He shows how the conflicts functioned to consolidate and legitimate Putin's regime and explores how they were connected to a third, hidden, "internal war" waged by the Kremlin against the opposition. The author convincingly argues that the Kremlin - relying on the secret services, the Orthodox Church, the Kremlin youth "Nashi", and the rehabilitated Cossacks - is preparing for an imperial revival, most recently in the form of a "Eurasian Union."

An essential book for understanding the dynamics of Putin's regime, this study digs deep into the Kremlin's secret long-term strategies. Readable and clearly argued, it makes a compelling case that Putin's regime emulates an established Russian paradigm in which empire building and despotic rule are mutually reinforcing. As the first comprehensive exploration of the historical antecedents and political continuity of the Kremlin's contemporary policies, Van Herpen's work will make a valuable contribution to the literature of post-Soviet Russia, and his arguments will stimulate a fascinating and vigorous debate. 

Marcel H. Van Herpen is director of the Cicero Foundation - an independent pro-EU and pro-Atlantic think tank. He is a regular collaborator with the U.S. think tank The National Interest. His research interests include defense and security in Central and Eastern Europe. Publications are freely available on the websites of the Cicero Foundation (www.cicerofoundation.org) and of The National Interest (http://nationalinterest.org).
Last publication:
* PUTINISM - THE SLOW RISE OF A RADICAL RIGHT REGIME IN RUSSIA, (Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan), 2013.

The new cover of the second edition of the Polish translation of my book "Putinism - The Slow Rise of a Radical Regime in Russia." The book has received the Polish 'Book of the Month' award in January 2015.

"Putin Does Not Seek to Challenge the West, but to Restore the Russian Empire."

Interview (in Spanish) with Marcel H. Van Herpen in LA TERCERA (Chile), March 16, 2014.

http://papeldigital.info/lt/2014/03/16/01/paginas/031.pdf