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42. Was Liberty Really Bad for Russia? Part I
- Author:
- Leon Aron
- Publication Date:
- 08-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
- Abstract:
- It is very much in the Russian and, even more so, Soviet political tradition for rulers to deprecate their predecessors. As they climb up the power ladder, the would-be Kremlin occupants must profess complete loyalty to the current leader in order to succeed. Once in power, the country's new masters bolster their authority by dissociating themselves from previous leaders. Along with the weakness of the country's political institutions, which undermines the legitimacy of the transitions, such repudiations almost inevitably result in the personalization of power, as the new occupants mold the political, social, and economic systems to their liking. Hence, Russian and—again and especially—Soviet history have often looked like a succession of very distinct personal political regimes—indeed, sometimes different states under the same name.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Cold War, Democratization, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union
43. The Defense Monitor, Primed and ready
- Author:
- Philip E. Coyle, Whitney Parker, Bruce Blair, and Brian Ellison
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- American And Russian political rhetoric attaches the highest priority to imposing ironclad control over their nuclear arsenals. The two nations cooperate extensively and devote substantial resources to achieving this aim, but both nations are shooting themselves in the foot by allowing hoary cold War priorities to take precedence. The anachronistic mind-set of the cold Warrior still dominates their nuclear establishments, their agendas, and their relationship in ways that deeply undermine their efforts to contain “loose nukes.” They spend 25 times more money to preserve their c old War nuclear deterrent postures than they spend on shoring up security against theft.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Cold War, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, America, Europe, and Asia
44. UKRAINE AND NATO: The Policy and Practice of Co-operating with the Euro-Atlantic Security Community
- Author:
- Nienke de Deugd
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Security Studies
- Abstract:
- The opening lines of the national anthem of Ukraine are a reflection of the country's history. For much of its past, Ukraine was divided between, and subjected by, such powerful neighbours as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Habsburg Empire, Poland, the Russian Empire and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). It was only on 24 August 1991, amidst the epochal events that characterised the end of the Cold War, that the country regained its independence.
- Topic:
- NATO and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- Ukraine and Asia
45. China: What's the Big Mystery?
- Author:
- John Feffer
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- The latest recruitment brochure from the Central Intelligence Agency, which beckons the uninitiated to be a part of a mission that's larger than all of us, opens to reveal an image of the red-roofed entrance to Beijing's Forbidden City. From an oversized portrait on the ancient wall, Chairman Mao and his Mona Lisa smile behold the vast granite expanse of Tiananmen Square. The Cold War is over, and the Soviet Union is gone. The cloak-and-dagger games of Berlin and Prague have been replaced by business and tourism. But Chinaland of ancient secrets, autocratic leaders, and memories of suppressed uprisingsstill holds out the promise of world-historical struggle that can help the CIA meet its recruitment goals.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Asia, and Soviet Union
46. The New Partnership: Building Russia-West Cooperation on Strategic Challenges
- Author:
- Frances G. Burwell
- Publication Date:
- 04-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- By the beginning of 2005, the improvement in relations between Russia and the West had lost momentum and come to a standstill, as serious concerns emerged in the United States and Europe about developments in Russia. European and U.S. commentators who disagree over economic policies and Iraq find themselves in broad critical consensus about Russian political and economic evolution. Will the term that has been moribund since the death of the Cold War — “containment” — emerge as an option for those in the United States and Europe making policy toward Russia? Already some argue for isolating Russia from Ukraine, Georgia, and other former Soviet republics; will they encourage the building of a new fence around Russia? Or will there be a new effort at engagement, albeit one that is more cautious about Russia's future in the West?
- Topic:
- Cold War, Development, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia
47. The Nuclear Dimension of U.S.-Russian Relations: Missile Defense, Arms Control and 'Loose Nukes'
- Author:
- Rose Gottemoeller
- Publication Date:
- 08-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- The United States and Russia are entering an important stage following the Presidential summit of May 2002. Since Presidents Bush and Putin first started getting to know one another last year, they have been declaring the onset of a fundamentally new relationship, based on a new framework for strategic cooperation. Both leaders have declared that the Cold War is over and that our two countries can exist as friends.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia
48. The United States and Russia in Central Asia: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran
- Author:
- Fiona Hill
- Publication Date:
- 08-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- Before 1991, the states of Central Asia were marginal backwaters, republics of the Soviet Union that played no major role in the Cold War relationship between the USSR and the United States, or in the Soviet Union's relationship with the principal regional powers of Turkey, Iran, and China. But, in the 1990s, the dissolution of the Soviet Union coincided with the re-discovery of the energy resources of the Caspian Sea, attracting a range of international oil companies including American majors to the region. Eventually, the Caspian Basin became a point of tension in U.S.-Russian relations. In addition, Central Asia emerged as a zone of conflict. Violent clashes erupted between ethnic groups in the region's Ferghana Valley. Civil war in Tajikistan, in 1992-1997, became entangled with war in Afghanistan. Faltering political and economic reforms, and mounting social problems provided a fertile ground for the germination of radical groups, the infiltration of foreign Islamic networks, and the spawning of militant organizations like the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). The IMU first sought to overthrow the government of President Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan, later espoused greater ambitions for the creation of an Islamic caliphate (state) across Central Asia, and eventually joined forces with the Taliban in Afghanistan. With the events of September 11, 2001 and their roots in the terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, Central Asia came to the forefront of U.S. attention.
- Topic:
- Cold War and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, United States, China, Europe, Iran, Central Asia, Turkey, Asia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Taliban, and Soviet Union
49. Baltic History and Soviet Empire: Recovering the Past in Soviet and Russian Historical Discourse
- Author:
- Thomas Sherlock
- Publication Date:
- 08-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Department of Social Sciences at West Point, United States Military Academy
- Abstract:
- This paper is a modest effort to sketch the transformation of public memory in conditions of political transition. Specifically, it examines the recovery and interpretation of the Baltic past in Soviet and post-Soviet discourse. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part examines the desacralization of the central myths that legitimated the Soviet empire and its rule over the Baltic nationalities. The debate on Baltic history during perestroika was part of a larger - and increasingly destructive -- examination of Soviet history that shocked society with a flood of negative revelations about the past, forcing political and academic authorities to cancel secondary school exams and discard existing textbooks as virtually useless. This struggle over how to interpret the Soviet past eventually weakened the normative supports of the Soviet state, contributing to its collapse in 1991.
- Topic:
- Cold War and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union
50. Fighting Terrorism: Lessons from the Cold War
- Author:
- Anatol Lieven
- Publication Date:
- 05-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- The war on terrorism, which the United States has now been compelled to undertake, will not greatly resemble traditional war. It will, however, have certain important similarities to the Cold War, or at least to those parts of that struggle which took place in what used to be called the third world. Like the struggle against communism, this will be a long, multifaceted struggle in which the terrorist groups must be combated, but so too must be the factors that impel much larger populations to give those groups support and shelter. As in the Cold War, U.S. military action will be only one element of U.S. strategy, and usually not the most important. As then, a central danger is that anti-Western forces will succeed in carrying out revolutions in important states, seizing control and turning them into more bases for anti- Western actions. It is therefore important that the United States plot its strategy with the Cold War's successes and failures clearly in mind.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Diplomacy, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia