Preface.- Introduction.- Pushing Back. The Balance and Balancing of Power.- The Rise of the Others: Can the U.S. Stay on Top? -- Interdependence, Balancing and Conflict in Russian-Turkish Relations.- Congruous or Conflicting? Great Power Configurations in the Balkans.- Competing Hegemons: EU and Russian Power Projection in the South Caucasus.- Russian Perspectives on U.S.-China Relations and the 21st-Century Global System.- Is Russia a Great Power in Asia?.- The Eurasian Great Power Triangle.- Pulling Their Punches: BRIC Foreign Policies in the Middle East -- Strategic Hedging by Non-Great Powers in the Persian Gulf -- Conclusions. Towards a New Equilibrium.