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191. The Future of Russia: Outlook from the Center and the Regions

Author:
Denis S. Alexeev
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
The issue of the transformations in Russia's internal and foreign policy that occurred during the years of Vladimir Putin's presidency has been repeatedly discussed among scholars and politicians inside and outside of the country, especially in the light of the Russian presidential elections held in early 2008. The internal factors that affected the processes of transformation are rather obvious, and are presented by the Russian ruling elite as including a campaign against the oligarchs who have taken control over significant portions of the Russian economy; the necessary improvement of the mechanisms of governance; the protection of Russia's national interests; and the implementation of the model of “Sovereign Democracy.” At the same time, some elements of Russian policy remain strongly dependent upon the activity of other players in the international arena. Many analysts identify the causes of the recent striking turns in former and contemporary Russian policy as being directly connected with external factors and international realities.
Political Geography:
Russia

192. The U.S.-Russian Dispute Over Missile Defense

Author:
Vladimir Rukavishnikov
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
The current Bush Administration is considering a crash effort to put into place the European components of a U.S.-built national missile defense system (NMD) before the end of President Bush's second term. While the debates in the United States are focused primarily on the failure and success of various flight tests, and on the cost of missile defense, the European general public wants to see a concrete plan of its deployment, to understand the design of the entire system, and have a clearer sense of a timetable.
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Europe

193. The Military Profession, Public Trust, and Public Interest

Author:
Giuseppe Caforio
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Trust in and prestige of the military profession are strongly influenced by the general public attitude towards the armed forces, in relation to the perception of threat by the public and the prestige that the military has overall in each country.1It thus seems opportune to begin this essay with a few elements of knowledge on these aspects of more general interest before moving on to a survey centered on the military profession in the more specific sense.

194. The Divide Over European Security

Author:
C.D. Van Aller
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
The war in Iraq continues to divide the Western democracies, nations once optimistic that the post-Cold War environment might lead to a more secure world. Even if solutions proved difficult to achieve, many hoped that these societies would share common viewpoints on threats to peace. Yet there have been contrasting security perspectives that have been highlighted by the conflict in Iraq, such as that of former European Union High Commissioner for Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, who stated in 2003 that “Europe is not at war.” One of the main cleavages is between Europe and the United States generally, with the former considering that the U.S. has increasingly been too dedicated to the unilateral use of force, views held by both elites and the general public in Europe. Even before the Bush Administration, Samuel Huntington de-scribed U.S. foreign policy as one of “world unilateralism,” with a single-minded devotion to its own interests while minimizing those of other countries. Since the Iraq war, Harold Pinter has stated, the U.S. “has become a fully-fledged, award-winning, gold-plated monster. It has effectively declared war on the world....” Many people in Western Europe have some sympathy with this view, if not its hyperbolic quality, and the war in Iraq appears to have amplified long-held convictions about the world's sole remaining superpower.
Topic:
Security and Cold War
Political Geography:
Iraq and Europe