This exploration of the international environment examines not only traditional political-military concerns but also economic, ethnic, and environmental issues and the role of crime, terrorism, the drug trade, and migration in the security environment of Russia and its neighbours to the south.

Preface; The Security Environment in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, Rajan Menon; Part 1 Traditional Security; Chapter 1 The Military and Political Security Landscape in Russia and the South, Roy Allison; Chapter 2 Traditional Russian Security Interests in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Andrei V. Zagorski; Part 2 Economic Features of Security; Chapter 3 Economics and Energy in the South, Hendrik Spruyt, Laurent Ruseckas; Chapter 4 Russian-Southern Economic Interaction, Natalia V. Zubarevich, Yuri E. Fedorov; Part 3 Territorial and Ethnic Disputes; Chapter 5 Southern Tears: Dangerous Opportunities in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Ronald Grigor Suny; Chapter 6 Contagious Ethnic Conflicts and Border Disputes Along Russia's Southern Flank, Emil A. Pain; Part 4 Non-Traditional Challenges; Chapter 7 New Threats in Central Asia and the Caucasus, Nancy Lubin; Chapter 8 Non-Traditional Threats, Challenges, and Risks in the Former Soviet South, Irina D. Zviagelskaia, Vitali V. Naumkin; conclusion Regional Security for Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, Yuri E. Fedorov, Ghia Nodia;