Drivers of Russian Grand Strategy

Russian leaders may not have something that would satisfy the Western academic strategy community as a deliberate “grand strategy,” but they nonetheless possess a strategic outlook and a theory of victory for this competition. That theory is based less on direct competition and more on raiding, a stratagem that holds promise for revisionist ambitions and the weaker side in the conflict. Understanding Russian strategic drivers is a precondition for successfully managing the long-term strategic competition with Russia. These are some of the issues discussed in the new Stockholm Free World Forum brief Drivers of Russian Grand Strategy, written by Michael Kofman, senior research scientist at CNA Corporation and fellow at the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute. The brief was launched at a seminar on Tuesday April 23 at SFWF in Stockholm, where the author Michael Kofman participated, along with the discussant Dr. Oscar Jonsson, acting director of SFWF.