Exporting securitisation

This chapter examines Russia&s;s counterterrorism campaign in Syria, showing how the Kremlin mobilised the terrorist threat to consolidate support at home, reaffirm regional influence, and project itself as a capable international power. It develops three strands: First, the presentation of Syria as a direct continuation of domestic counterterrorism rooted in the Chechen Wars; second, the use of securitisation rhetoric to showcase military capability and counterterrorism expertise to regional and global audiences; and third, the deployment of this narrative to shore up Putin&s;s legitimacy under Western sanctions and to claim renewed great-power status. The chapter situates Syria within the book&s;s wider argument that the securitisation of terrorism has become a defining feature of Russian politics across domestic, regional, and international levels. It traces the persistence and adaptability of patterns from Chechnya to Syria in serving strategic aims. The structure is as follows: An overview of actors, audiences, and aims in the Syrian context; analysis of rhetoric framing the Islamic State as a universal threat; and an assessment of how the intervention enhanced Russia&s;s international standing and opened pathways for influence beyond the Middle East, including Africa.