U.S. Foreign Policy: What Wins Hearts and Minds in Ukraine?
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) How does U.S. policy toward Ukraine resonate with the Ukrainian public? What kind of policies in Washington make the most positive or negative impact, and why?…
Strengthening Ukraine’s Black Sea Navy to be a Bulkhead Against Russia
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The strengthening of Ukraine’s naval capabilities in the Black Sea is taking place in line with the growing U.S. understanding of the need to contain Russia…
How Maidan Revolutions Reproduce and Intensify the Post-Soviet Crisis of Political Representation
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) Revolutions have been plentiful in post-Soviet countries, but unlike classic revolutionary examples, they have been remarkably consistent in failing to establish a more stable political order…
Opening the Araxes Rail Link between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Why the EU Should Support the Connection
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The South Caucasus has entered a new phase since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, with Baku now holding the advantage. This new paradigm could pave the way…
Russia and Its Two “Shared Neighborhoods”
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The term “shared neighborhood” is applied when a nation or a group of nations is geographically located between disproportionally larger states, relations with which are critically…
The Georgian Orthodox Church as a Political Actor in Uncertain Times
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) Over the past 30 years, the Georgian Orthodox Church has always played a significant role in the political life of Georgia, but in recent years, it…
Not So Traditional After All? The Russian Orthodox Church’s Failure as a “Moral Norm Entrepreneur”
“Traditional values” is a key trope in the conservative rhetoric dominant in Russian political and social discourse since Putin’s return to the presidency in 2012. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC)…
Russia’s Foreign Military Basing Strategy
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) In December 2020, news broke that Russia had signed an agreement with Sudan to build a naval base on the Red Sea. Given the refurbishment of…
How the “Escalation Strategy” Evolved in Russia’s Security Policy
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The “escalation strategy” has been a constant element in Russia’s international behavior for the last twenty years. Stemming from the well-known “escalation for de-escalation” principle that…
Forever Together? Relations Between Moscow and Minsk After the Belarusian Revolution of 2020
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The Belarusian Revolution was a stress test for Belarus-Russia relations. The domestic political crisis that followed the rigged presidential elections of 2020 weakened the Minsk regime…
Why Russia Is Unlikely to Use Zapad-2021 to Intervene Militarily in European Countries
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The last time Russia and Belarus teamed up to hold a large-scale strategic command-and-staff military exercise, a number of international media outlets pondered whether it might…
Karabakh After the 44-Day War: Russian Peacekeepers and Patterns
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) After the September-November war of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated its seven occupied territories and established rule over Karabakh. A significant share of that region went under the…