State Capability and Challenges to Russia's Food Security in the Twenty-first Century
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 24. November 2025
Book
Hardback
282 pages
978-1-041-10373-8 (ISBN)
Description
This book offers a rigorous examination of Russia's state capability through the critical lens of food security, revealing profound implications for domestic stability and international relations.
Drawing on extensive research, the author demonstrates how food insecurity has historically catalyzed political instability in Russia, explaining the Putin regime's substantial investment in agricultural self-sufficiency since 2014. The analysis extends beyond domestic considerations to interrogate Russia's unique position as the sole major authoritarian grain exporter in a changing global order.
It contains compelling evidence that Russia's management of food security challenges constitutes a pivotal factor in contemporary geopolitics. As climate change threatens future Russian grain production, it shows the consequences extend to dependent regimes and global market stability.
This timely contribution advances scholarly understanding of how control over fundamental resources influences state capability and international relations. It will be essential reading for researchers and students in Russian studies, international relations, food security, and political economy, as well as policymakers engaged with global food systems and security governance.
Drawing on extensive research, the author demonstrates how food insecurity has historically catalyzed political instability in Russia, explaining the Putin regime's substantial investment in agricultural self-sufficiency since 2014. The analysis extends beyond domestic considerations to interrogate Russia's unique position as the sole major authoritarian grain exporter in a changing global order.
It contains compelling evidence that Russia's management of food security challenges constitutes a pivotal factor in contemporary geopolitics. As climate change threatens future Russian grain production, it shows the consequences extend to dependent regimes and global market stability.
This timely contribution advances scholarly understanding of how control over fundamental resources influences state capability and international relations. It will be essential reading for researchers and students in Russian studies, international relations, food security, and political economy, as well as policymakers engaged with global food systems and security governance.
Reviews / Votes
"Two macro global trends have emerged in the past quarter century. First, Russia's importance to global food security has become more prominent. Second, authoritarian regimes increasingly base their legitimacy on domestic food security. Wegren's timely book merges analyses of these two trends. His compelling analysis surveys several crucial challenges confronting Russia's food security and assesses state capability to meet myriad challenges, ranging from global heating which influences Russia's agrifood production, to food safety, to current global tensions that show little signs of alleviation. With its clear and crisp writing, the reader is sure to benefit. Highly recommended. "- Frode Nilssen, Professor, The Arctic University of Norway, Norwegian College of Fishery Science
"This new book from Stephen Wegren, the West's leading authority on Russian agricultural and food policy, is his best one yet. He broadens his inquiry to include the many key elements that enter into the production of agriculture and food everywhere, but especially in Russia-climate change, the unpredictable bureaucratic structures, the supply chains connecting the farm to the retail store, the diversity of natural conditions in a country that spans 11 time zones, the neglected area of food safety, and capping it all, the challenges from geopolitics. Food security and food exports are thus the outcomes of a whole system, which Wegren take us through, surely and admirably. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand Russa's role in the world's food supply. Strongly recommended. "
- Thane Gustafson, Professor of Government, Georgetown University
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core
Illustrations
20 s/w Tabellen
20 Tables, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
605 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-041-10373-8 (9781041103738)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Stephen K. Wegren
State Capability and Challenges to Russia's Food Security in the Twenty-first Century
E-Book
11/2025
Routledge
€60.99
Available for download
Stephen K. Wegren
State Capability and Challenges to Russia's Food Security in the Twenty-first Century
E-Book
11/2025
Routledge
€60.99
Available for download
Person
Stephen K. Wegren is University Distinguished Professor and Professor of Political Science at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA. He has published extensively on the political economy of Russia. His most recent books were an edited book titled Russia's Role in the Contemporary International Agri-Food Trade System (2022) and Russia's Food Revolution (2021).
Content
Introduction. Thinking about Food Security 1. An Overview of Russian Food Security 2. The Challenges from Climate Change 3. The Challenges from Production Narrownes 4. The Challenges from Marginal Agricultural Areas 5. The Challenges from Unsafe Food 6. The Challenges from Geopolitics Conclusion. Summing Up