Options for Deterring Russia

Abstract: In September 2021 Chatham House published 'What Deters Russia', a study extracting core principles and recommendations from decades of success and failure in countering Russian hostile ambition. Those recommendations immediately became more relevant than ever, as Russia built up its forces in apparent preparation for escalation of the war on Ukraine, coupled with demands and ultimatums to the US and NATO. In this discussion Keir Giles will place the current Russian challenge in context, looking for lessons from past interactions with Moscow on how, and how not, to respond.

Bio: Keir Giles is a Senior Consulting Fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House in London. He also works with the Conflict Studies Research Centre (CSRC), a group of subject matter experts in Eurasian security based in Northamptonshire, UK. After acquiring a degree in Russian from London University's School of Slavonic and East European Studies and a wide range of experience in other fields in Europe and the former Soviet Union, Keir originally joined CSRC at the UK Defence Academy (UKDA) as a specialist in human factors influencing Russian military, defence and security issues. When UKDA's research and assessment programmes covering Russia were closed down in April 2010, Keir brought key team members into the private sector to re-establish CSRC as an independent provider of analysis and expertise on Eurasian security issues. Keir now oversees the research and publications programme of the new, independent CSRC, while continuing to write and publish there and for Chatham House on his own specialist area of Russian approaches to conventional, cyber and information warfare.