Russia and Eurasia

October 2003
Losing Balance: Russian Foreign Policy toward Iraq and Iran
by Mark N. Katz
"Moscow's balancing act between Washington and Baghdad [has] failed, and its balancing act between Washington and Tehran is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. . . . [A] reluctance to establish clear priorities among competing interests threatens to undermine both its relations with the United States and its influence in a region of continuing strategic importance to Russia."

November 2002
Is There a Muslim Foreign Policy? The Case of the Caspian
by Brenda Shaffer
"If Islam is the defining force in a Muslim-populated state, then, like Samson, these states should be willing to make significant material sacrifices and take security risks to promote their religious beliefs. That has not been the case in the Muslim-dominated nations in the Caspian region."

October 2002
Putin's First Two Years: Democracy or Authoritarianism?
by Thomas M. Nichols
"Those who argue for the irreversibility of Russian democracy are on firmer ground than the critics who, while understandably concerned, have been warning repeatedly since 1991 that Russia is headed for disaster and whose predictions of doom have repeatedly gone unrealized."

October 2002
George W. Bush and Russia
by James Goldgeier and Michael McFaul
"Why the major reversal in Bush's thinking on Russia? Most have attributed this amazing transformation to September 11. . . . But September 11 is only party of the story."

October 2002
America and Russia: Make-Believe Arms Control
by Jack Mendelsohn
"By playing make-believe arms control with Moscow and negotiating a vaguely drafted and potentially contentious nuclear weapons agreement, the Bush administration has sacrificed the security of structure and predictability for the putative virtues of flexibility and unilateralism."

October 2002
America in Eurasia: One Year After
by Svante E. Cornell
"American engagement with the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia needs to be clear and predictable. The United States has the potential to play an important stabilizing role in the region, but as long as uncertainty surrounds its commitment, America's role may instead be destabilizing if other powers try to test its determination to remain engaged."

October 2002
Islamism and Anti-Americanism in Central Asia
by Edward Schatz
"The failure of Western models of economic relations and governance gave rise to calls for authentic, culturally appropriate alternatives in Central Asia-and the tapping of anti-American themes. In their recruitment efforts, [Islamists used] Soviet-era anti-Americanism as a resource, increasingly presenting images of the United States and its allies in order depict Islam as inherently peaceful, and the United States and its allies as inherently war-seeking."

October 2002
Death as a Way of Life: Russia's Demographic Decline
by David E. Powell
"The depopulation of Russia seems destined to worsen in the coming years, with major implications for the military, the workforce, personal and societal health, and even national security. . . . If current trends continue, Russians may find themselves on the endangered species list."

January 2002
The Other Allies: Russia, India, and Afghanistan's United Front
by Thomas Withington
"Russia and India can argue that without their support, the United Front would have not defeated the Taliban. . . . Because of this instrumental support, India and Russia will undoubtedly expect to have a voice in Afghanistan's future."

October 2001
Simulations of Power in Putin's Russia
by Stephen Holmes
"Although the identity of power wielders changes from year to year, we will not soon witness the emergence of a form of power accountable to ordinary Russian citizens. The state will remain detached and nonresponsive to society. It will remain a 'corporation' that, however wracked by internal struggles, basically looks after itself."

October 2001
Realistic Engagement: A New Approach to American-Russian Relations
by Michael McFaul
"Russian and American leaders have to define a United States-Russian relationship that neither rekindles cold war rivalry nor refuels illusions about alliances and special relationships. More distance than a decade ago might be healthy for the bilateral relationship. Too much distance will be dangerous."

October 2001
America, Russia, and the Future of Arms Control
by Jack Mendelsohn
"The Bush administration's national security policies . . . will severely stress United States relations with Russia and China. . . . These policies would also deal a serious blow to the international treaty regimes developed over the past 30 years to control the spread of weapons of mass destruction and that continue to enjoy universal support and approval."

October 2001
The Dilemmas of Russia's Anti-Revolutionary Revolution
by Stephen E. Hanson
"Had Western observers understood the truly revolutionary nature of communism's collapse and its aftermath, the crisis-ridden and often violent nature of Russian politics in the post-Soviet era would have come as far less of a shock. Why did we make the mistake of thinking that Russian 'reform' could unfold through ordinary, not extraordinary, means?"

October 2001
The Russian Economy: Putin's Pause
by James R. Millar
"Putin appears to have more in common with Brezhnev than with his more decisive predecessors. Khrushchev, Gorbachev, and Yeltsin risked their positions in attempts to de-Stalinize the Soviet Union. . . . Putin's rule seems to be more pause than reform, which is, incidentally, what the public wants."

October 2001
The Russian Media: From Popularity to Distrust
by Floriana Fossato
"President Putin has repeatedly said that a free press is the 'most important guarantor of the irreversibility of our country's democratic course.' Yet during the last year the Kremlin has appeared more interested in organizing a consistent flow of 'correct' information than in strengthening a free media."

October 2000
Putin in Power
by Michael McFaul
"During the Yeltsin years, it became fashionable in the West to cite Russia's weak state as the source of Russia's ills. Putin has demonstrated after only a few months in office that the Russian federal state still has tremendous power-perhaps too much power-if the man in control of that state is vigorous, ambitious, and popular."

October 2000
Yeltsin and the Evolution of Electoral Monarchy in Russia
by Lilia Shevtsova
"Yeltsin's revolutionary rhetoric helped him create the appearance of a complete break with the past, but that break was never as clean as was imagined at first, nor could it have been. Yeltsin's destruction of the Soviet state looks less like a revolution than a palace coup."

October 2000
Through a Distorted Lens: Chechnya and the Western Media
by Anatol Lieven
"The media, along with human rights groups and the great majority of politicians and political commentators, have repeatedly called for a 'political solution' or a 'peaceful solution' to the Chechen war without ever detailing what that solution should be, or how it can be achieved. . . . This kind of approach may make everyone feel good about themselves, but it is also profoundly irresponsible."

October 2000
Can Putin Jump-Start Russia's Stalled Economy?
by James R. Millar
"Putin has moved slowly and ambiguously on the economy, and it is unlikely that the pace will quicken. . . . Russia appears to be stuck halfway between a command economy and a market economy, incapable of moving forward except by small, halting, and irresolute steps."

October 2000
How the Internet Did Not Transform Russia
by Rafal Rohozinski
In Russia, "the 'new dog' of the Internet was adapted and used to perform the 'old tricks' inherent to the Soviet system. Nine years after the Soviet system's demise, the legacy of that system and its attendant social order continues to influence and help shape the size, character, and social texture of the Russian Net."