A Contested Triangle
Russia, the West, and the “Islamic State”
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The “Islamic State” poses only a limited threat to Russia. Nevertheless, Moscow repeatedly insists that Russia is threatened by the IS to the same extent as the West. In doing so, Moscow wants to legitimize its intervention in Syria and conceal the fact that its bombardments keep the regime of Bashar Assad in power. At the same time, talk of the “common threat posed by IS” works to overcome the rift with the West caused by Russia’s annexation of the Crimea and its war in eastern Ukraine. The aim is to bring the West around to normalising relations with Russia in the name of the struggle against IS.
(Osteuropa 11-12/2015, pp. 23–32)