Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

What can explain the uniquely rapid victory Russia achieved in the 2008 Georgian war, especially incontrast to other modern prolonged conflicts, and how can Steven Biddle's "Modern system theory"contribute to the understanding of this phenomenon? The purpose of this essay is to explain why Russia was successful in the invasion of Georgia.

With increased Russian aggression, it will be interesting to investigate what led to the Russian successes in Georgia. It is relevant because Russia's aggression affects world trade through sanctions and reduced trade in the region. It also has a geopolitical impact through increased tensions in the region between NATO and Russia.

The studies result shows that Russia's success is explained by the surprise they achieved with their intervention in South Ossetia and the rapid pace of attack they managed to maintain. These factors meant that Georgia did not have time to adapt and organize a defence against Russia. Georgia deviated from almost all of Biddle's defence principles, which is an explanatory factor for why Russia was successful inthe Georgian war in 2008. Russia reached the end point and culmination of Biddle's theory, breakthrough operations. However, the road to get there was in many ways the opposite of how Biddle describes it in his theory. Biddle's Modern Systems Theory can partly explain Russian success.