Dr. Jeffrey Mankoff, INSS Distinguished Research Fellow, participated in the NUPI Russia Conference 2025: Russian power practices and repertoires on 20 Nov 2025. Mankoff was a panelist on "Making Russia Great Again and the New Era of Great Power Competition – Panel Discussion."

This conference presented the main findings of the RUSMENA project, funded by the Research Council of Norway. Launched in 2021, the project set out to explore Russian foreign policy actions in a group of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in order to better understand Russian power politics and its repertoire.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the project’s scope was expanded. In addition to the MENA region, the researchers now also examine Russian power practices in the Black Sea region, where Russian actions threaten the existing security architecture in Europe and challenge the global order. 

The structure of this year’s conference reflected this broader perspective and is organized into three thematic sessions.

The first session addressed how Russian power practices can be studied – both in general terms and in the current context. 

The second explored examples of Russia’s power projection in the MENA region and examines how regional actors have responded. It also looks at how Russia has exercised power in the Black Sea region, where it has increasingly relied on military means since 2014, and especially after 2022.

Finally, the third session asked Russia experts and stakeholders to assess the extent to which Russia’s use of power is driven by its quest for recognition as a great power that others must take into account. 

Dr. Jeffrey Mankoff is a Distinguished Research Fellow in the INSS Center for Military Power and Future Warfare.