title: The Russian annexation of Crimea: regional and global ramifications
abstract: The largely uncoordinated ‘quadruple enlargement’ of NATO, the European Union, US liberal-democratic influence, plus the expansion of Arab Gulf state and Turkish interests into Russian spheres of influence and security, has not only led Moscow to opt for the annexation of Crimea and political-military interference in eastern Ukraine in early 2014, but also to engage in a major military intervention in Syria since September 2015. The chapter addresses the responses of the US and differing NATO me