In the December 2014–January 2015 issue of Survival, Lawrence Freedman examines Russia’s strategy in the Ukraine conflict; Emile Hokayem analyses the Syrian civil war in light of competition between Iran and the Gulf states; and Robert Ayson and Desmond Ball explore the dangers of confrontation between China, Japan and the United States in the Asia-Pacific. Also in the issue: Alexander Nicoll on Britain’s politics of union and immigration; Henri J. Barkey on Turkey’s growing isolation; and Alexa van Sickle on governance in South Africa