PONARS Eurasia 13 - PONARS Eurasia

War in Georgia and the ‘Russian Card’ in Ukrainian Politics

Escalation of the South Ossetian conflict into a Russian-Georgian war immediately changed the security climate in the post-Soviet space. For the first time since 1991, the Russian Federation officially rejected…

The EU’s Eastern Partnership: Why It May Help Democracy Promotion and How the United States Can Help Move It Forward

The European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative, generally welcomed on both sides of the Atlantic as a positive step toward drawing the countries of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus into…

How We Assess Civil Society Developments: The Russia Example

In assessing a country’s commitment to democracy, civil society developments are a key component. An encouraged, or at least unfettered, civil society usually provides evidence of democratic governance. An overtly…

Russian-Ukrainian Relations After the Georgian War

There is little doubt that the August 2008 crisis in Georgia affected relations between Russia and Ukraine. At the time, a number of analysts voiced serious concerns that Ukraine would…

Civil Society in the New Authoritarianism

Russian prime minister and former president Vladimir Putin’s efforts to strengthen the Russian state are well-known. His consistent advocacy of a strong society is less so. In this respect, Putin’s…

Circassian World: Responses to New Challenges

Every tourist who comes to Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, visits a famous gift shop called “Adyga Una” (“The Circassian House”). The owner of this gift shop is a well-known Circassian businessman…

Convergence in Post-Soviet Political Systems?: A Comparative Analysis of Russian, Kazakh, and Ukrainian Parliamentary Elections

Next year will mark twenty years since the first more or less free and fair elections were held in the USSR in March 1989. Since then, numerous elections have been…

Competing Designs for Caspian Energy Highways: Russia and the EU Face Reality Checks

The profound economic disaster that began unfolding in the summer of 2008 has inevitably distorted the energy-related political perspectives developed in the United States, the European Union, and Russia during an…

What’s Wrong with Security Cooperation in Eurasia?

Because national security outlooks are determined by objective factors such as geography, resources, and historical and cultural traditions, different understandings and meanings of the term and concept of “security” exist…

Energizing the Western Response to Democratic Setbacks in Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia

The most recent elections in the three states of the South Caucasus and in Kyrgyzstan have all represented strong setbacks for the development of democracy. While the specific situations are…

Iran and Afghanistan: Cross Border Security Challenges, Conflict Management, and Iran-U.S. Relations

Political, security, and humanitarian developments at the intersection of the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia are interrelated to such an extent that one issue or country cannot be adequately addressed…

Medvedev and the Military: Reshuffling as a Preamble for Reform?

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev insists that the somewhat softer style of his foreign and security policy makes no difference in their substance. Key policy guidelines continue to support the goals…

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PONARS Eurasia Podcast

PONARS Eurasia