Is Kyrgyzstan’s New Political System Sustainable?
Speaking in July 2011 on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of Kyrgyzstan’s new constitution, then-President Roza Otunbaeva declared that the key task for the Kyrgyz citizenry was “to make…
Bolstering Exchange Programs to Link University Education with Liberal Views in Russia: A Different Perspective on “Democracy Assistance”
Efforts by the United States to promote democracy and civil society in Russia by directly supporting institutions such as political parties, nongovernmental organizations, alternative media outlets, and opposition groups have…
An Interactive Planning Approach to Shaping U.S.-Russia Relations
U.S. policy toward Russia, as toward the rest of the world, tends to be highly reactive. Analysts and policy-makers usually spend their time discussing what the Russian government might do…
Turkish Foreign Policy in the AKP’s Third Term
On July 12, 2011, the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi or AKP) claimed victory for a third time in Turkish parliamentary elections since 2002. The AKP received…
No Enemy at the Gate: An Unusual Election Cycle in Russia
A few weeks after the September 2004 hostage crisis in Beslan, North Ossetia, the leading propaganda man of the Putin regime, Vladislav Surkov, declared: "We must all realize—the enemy is…
The Path to a Political Solution in Afghanistan
The gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, announced by President Barack Obama on June 22, 2011, has made the problem of achieving a political settlement in Afghanistan more urgent…
Lost in Translation: Is there a Way to Overcome the Different Political Languages of Russia and the West?
Between Russia and the West, differences in terminology are perceived to signify irreconcilable differences in values, leading to a mutual lack of trust. Observe the language used by these former…
Violence, Politics, and Ethnicity in the “Russian Riviera”
The Krasnodar region is a wealthy province in southern Russia with a population of over five million. Located on the Black Sea coast, it borders Ukraine, Georgia (the breakaway region…
Extending the ‘Reset’ in U.S.-Russia Relations
Was the ratification of the New START treaty the one and only sign of the reset between the United States and Russia? What is the direction for their new relationship?…
‘Two-Level Games’ in U.S.-Russia Relations
U.S.-Russia relations today reflect a classic case of the security dilemma. Mutual suspicion between Moscow and Washington go beyond natural concerns about each other’s build-up of offensive capabilities. Each state…
The Latent Resonance of the Arab Revolutions in the North Caucasus
The spectacular explosion of revolutionary energy across the greater Middle East in the first weeks of 2011 reconfigured many international endeavors, including the Israeli-Palestinian pseudo-peace process and NATO’s wishful quasi-consolidation.…
Russia’s “Libya Debate”: Political Meanings and Repercussions
Russia’s reaction to the recent uprisings in the Middle East and Libya, in particular, was striking for two reasons. First, it unmasked multiple trends in the Kremlin’s foreign policy machinery.…