Dr. Howard G. Coombs & Dr. Christopher Marsh | This volume examines “gray zone conflict,” or the space between peace and war in which state and non-state actors engage in competition. Even with the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, this interpretive paradigm retains great utility and helps explain the current strategic environment and the holistic nature of contemporary conflict.

Why have special operations forces become a key strategic tool in the conduct of modern warfare? How do these specially trained and equipped elite units function? What types of missions do they conduct?

Presenting a collection of essays by leading military and security analysts, Elite Warriors offers a detailed assessment of the organization and capabilities of a selection of special operations forces from around the world.

In a truly contemporary analysis of Moscow′s relations with its neighbors and other strategic international actors, Nikolas K. Gvosdev and Christopher Marsh use a comprehensive vectors approach, dividing the world into eight geographic zones.

This comparative survey of the secularization policies of the Soviet Union and China looks at the suppression, survival, and revival of religion in both countries.

Unparalleled Reforms offers the reader a sophisticated understanding of the nature of political reform and develops a theoretical model that can account for commonly overlooked factors that affect political processes in all types of political systems. In a class all its own, this is an important work for scholars interested in comparative politics, international relations, economics, Asian studies, and Russian studies.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the once numerous pronouncements of a coming conflict with China have been muted as both countries face new challenges. The contributors to this insightful volume discuss some of the most critical issues in contemporary U.S.-China relations and provide historical and cultural perspectives on these issues.

Civil Society and the Search for Justice in Russia explores the various dimensions of Russia's civil society: the meaning of, and search for, justice; the role of the Orthodox church as a principal unifier in civil society; the need for new freedoms for women and ethnic minorities; and the role of mass education and the free press in inculcating and articulating new civic values.

Vladmir Putin′s recent election as Russia′s president was the culmination of over a decade of competitive elections and attempts at democratic reform. In fact, voting in Russia has become the only legitimate means for gaining a position of political leadership in the government, or for the transfer of power from one set of leaders to another. This important development is traced from Russia′s early electoral heritage to the present with examinations of executive, legislative, and local elections.