Russia's Southern Neighbors
نویسندگان
چکیده
The In s ti tute for the stu dy of Di p l om acy hosted the spring m eeti n gs of the Sch l e s i n ger Working Group on the topic of Russian forei gn policy tow a rds its nei gh bors in Cen tral Asia and the Ca u c a su s . The po ten tial for furt h er con f l i ct a l ong Ru s s i a’s peri ph ery is re a l . Russia (ex periencing an econ omic upswing and more assertive po l i tical leadership) is mired in a series of border probl ems as well as unre s o lved internal sec u ri ty ch a ll en ges in Ch ech nya and con ti nues to be a cen tral actor in the en ti re Ca u c a sus regi on . Th e c ivil war in Afghanistan con ti nues to ex port Islamic ex tremism to Ru s s i a’s important Cen tra l Asian nei gh bors . If a dra m a tic sec u ri ty down tu rn took shape in any of these borderl a n d s , it wo u l d test the com peten ce , po l i tical wi ll , and stra tegi c com m on sense of Putin and his te a m . Ru s s i a’s govern m ent has alre ady dem on s tra ted its wi lli n gness to ch a r ge headl ong into an internal confli ct , and Puti n’s initial pop u l a ri ty has soa red as a re su l t . To provi de a starting point for the discuss i on , the working group ex a m i n ed the fo ll owi n g i s su e s : • Ex ternal po l i tical and sec u ri ty ch a ll en ges facing Russia in the near to medium term. • Ru s s i a’s interests and wi ll i n gness to rem a i n en ga ged in devel opm ents along its fron ti er. • Pro s pects for stra tegic su rprises and unanti cipated events along Russia’s southern border. • Im p l i c a ti ons of Ru s s i a’s beh avi or and regi onal devel opm ents on US interests and capabi l i ti e s .
منابع مشابه
Russia's Military Strategy: Preparing for the Wrong War?
Russia recently invited the Palestinian organization Hamas to Moscow and, at the same time, is involved in negotiating with Iran regarding its nuclear program. These two recent developments, tied with Russia's recent use of its energy weapon Gazprom against Ukraine, makes clear that Russia is returning to the international arena. In light of these developments, does Russia's return as a major p...
متن کاملRussia's Caspian Policy Under Primakov
This memo addresses the general prospects for Russia's policy in the Caspian Sea, particularly in light of the ongoing financial crisis and domestic political turmoil. After touching on uncertainties regarding the Caspian's significance as a source of hydrocarbon reserves, I will consider Russia's evolving policy preferences and diplomatic relations, environmental issues, and the broader politi...
متن کاملInternational Brief
(Single years of age) Millions 0 1.60 While recent Russian demographic trends reflect the country's current economic and social malaise, they also continue to reveal the shocks experienced by Russia's population earlier in this century. Russia's fertility has been falling sharply since the breakup of the USSR: Russia's 1993 total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.4 ranks among the lowest in Europe. Des...
متن کاملThe Gorbachev Anti-Alcohol Campaign and Russia's Mortality Crisis.
Political and economic transition is often blamed for Russia's 40% surge in deaths between 1990 and 1994. Highlighting that increases in mortality occurred primarily among alcohol-related causes and among working-age men (the heaviest drinkers), this paper investigates an alternative explanation: the demise of the 1985-1988 Gorbachev Anti-Alcohol Campaign. Using archival sources to build a new ...
متن کامل