Studying the interplay between ideology and politics in Russian governance, from the former USSR to contemporary Russia, this book examines why, despite the prohibition of state ideology in the 1993 Russian Constitution, Russian hawks endured beyond the 1991 regime change and have risen to political prominence as the chief ideologues of Russia's confrontation against the West. Departing from realist and constructivist explanations of foreign policy focused on Vladimir Putin, Juliette Faure highlights the influence of elite groups with diverse strategic cultures and reveals how, even under authoritarian rule, a competitive space exists where rival elites contest their visions of national interests. Demonstrating the regime's strategic use of ideological ambiguity to maintain policy flexibility, Faure offers a fresh lens on the domestic factors that have played into the Russian regime's decision to wage war against Ukraine and their implications for international security, regional stability and the global balance of power.

‘Juliette Faure invites us to delve deeply into the history and ideology of Russian Hawks and their gradual move from periphery to mainstream. Her book is a masterful demonstration of the need of an intellectual history of the Putin regime and a must read for all those who want to understand today's Russia.'

Marlene Laruelle - Author of Ideology and Meaning-Making under the Putin Regime

‘This book stands out as a prime example of the new generation of scholarship that takes Russian ideology seriously. It is a theoretically informed, thoroughly researched and sharply contextualized study of fringe illiberal thinkers who, since the 1970s, have gradually ascended to shape the core of the Russian regime's ideology.'

Mikhail Suslov - Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen

‘Juliette Faure's fascinating study of Russia's expansionist and militant conservatism is meticulously researched as well as timely. In a highly perceptive investigation, Faure brings to life the extraordinary mixture of techno-modernism, nationalism and religion that has produced a complex ideology constantly reinventing itself. This book emphatically contributes both to understanding contemporary Russia and to the myriad ways though which ideologies mutate both as patterns of discourse and in their impact on the concrete world.'

Michael Freeden - Emeritus Professor of Politics, Oxford University

‘The hopes that Russia would turn to the West after the end of the Cold War proved illusory. Juliette Faure’s The Rise of the Russian Hawks offers a rich blend of historical research, sociology of ideas and discourses, and the interaction of networks and ruling elites to illuminate the ideological sources of the Russian divergence. With extensive textual analysis and in person interviews, she illuminates the world of ‘modernist’ and ‘dynamic’ conservatism from the Soviet era to Russian aggression against Ukraine. Drawing on hypotheses about reactionary modernism and the integration of elements of modernity with cultural conservatism, Faure explores two generations of Russian intellectuals who managed to combine skilful discourse, effective networks, and access to political power to fashion what she calls the ‘hegemonic discourse’ in Putin’s Russia. The result is a work of contemporary intellectual history and social science analysis that should be of great interest to her fellow scholars, policy analysts and policy makers, and concerned citizens.’

Jeffrey Herf - Distinguished University Professor, Emeritus, Department of History, University of Maryland, College Park