Russian-Turkish Relations: Understanding the Unique Conflictual Cooperation offers a groundbreaking analysis of one of the most paradoxical and volatile bilateral relationships in contemporary world politics. Moving beyond the binary constraints of traditional international relations theories, Vera Liubchak and Ahmet Sözen argue that the interaction between Moscow and Ankara is defined by a permanent, multi-layered symbiosis of intense pragmatic cooperation and systemic geopolitical rivalry. Focusing on the eras of both Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian-Turkish Relations demonstrates how a shared disillusionment with the Western-led global order and a mutual desire for post-imperial prestige drive both nations. Simultaneously, the authors explore how overlapping ambitions for regional hegemony inevitably spark friction across shared spheres of influence, from the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean to the South Caucasus. By synthesizing Power Transition Theory with an original "matryoshka" model of nested hegemony, this volume illuminates how these two personalized, authoritarian regimes successfully localize acute military crises-such as the 2015 Syrian jet incident-to prevent total rupture.