NIDS Joint Research Series No.8

FOI-NIDS Joint Research Projext
Neighbourhood Watch: Japanese and Swedish perspectives on Russian Security

The present joint study on Russia is the result of a cooperation project between the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) in Stockholm and the National Institute of Defense Studies (NIDS) in Tokyo. It has been written with the support of the Japanese and Swedish ministries of defence. The joint study was initiated in the spring of 2011 and two workshops have been held - one in Stockholm in October 2011 and one in Tokyo in March 2012. At these, the researchers who participated as authors in the study were able to meet and discuss the draft chapters as well as the practicalities.

The study attempts to add to the understanding of Russia's security outlook by combining or, at times, juxtaposing two different geographical outlooks on similar questions. Its underlying assumption is that we will increase our understanding of Russia by comparing these neighbourhood analyses of Russian strategy, military deployment, energy policy and counter-terrorism policy. Looking at Russia from two different geopolitical angles, it is clear that Moscow cannot concentrate only on the West or only on the Far East. Both Europe and Asia are regions of vital importance for Russia in the future, but, to some extent, for different reasons.