Recent Publications

Strategic Insights: The Ukraine Crises and the Emerging Sino-Russian Political Alliance
September 9, 2014 — Dr. Bin Yu, Ph.D. The first half of 2014 witnessed a notable enhancement of Russian-Chinese relations. Signs of this visible geostrategic shift include high-profile summit meetings, breakthroughs in energy/gas deals, renewed interest in military-technology cooperation,1 more integrated military exercises, and closer diplomatic coordination on... MORE

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Russia and the Caspian Sea: Projecting Power or Competing for Influence?
August 1, 2014 — Author: Dr Tracey GermanView the Executive Summary This monograph examines Russia’s policy toward the Caspian Sea region as Moscow attempts to counterbalance growing American involvement within what it perceives to be its zone of privileged interest. It focuses on the recent expansion of the Caspian Flotilla and the rationale behind it. Moscow has... MORE

Strategic Implications of the Evolving Shanghai Cooperation Organization
August 1, 2014 — Authors: Dr Andrew Monaghan, Mr Henry Plater-Zyberk View the Executive SummaryThe role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in regional politics and the significance of the organization for U.S. interests are widely misunderstood. The organization is emphatically not a military bloc, and yet engages in joint activities which resemble... MORE

European Missile Defense and Russia
July 1, 2014 — Authors: Mr Keir Giles, Dr Andrew Monaghan View the Executive SummaryThis monograph examines the history of missile defense and the current dialogue from a Russian perspective, in order to explain the root causes of Russian alarm. Specific recommendations for managing the Russia relationship in the context of missile defense are given. Important... MORE

Russia’s Contribution as a Partner in the War on Terrorism
July 1, 2014 — Author: Mr Henry Plater-Zyberk View the Executive SummaryThis monograph examines terrorism and counterterrorism from the Russian perspective so as to assess prospects for cooperation with Russia in fighting terror. It concludes that, regardless of the state of political relations between Russia and the United States at any given time, longer-term... MORE

Russia After Putin
May 1, 2014 — Author: Dr Richard J Krickus View the Executive SummaryDespite many obstacles, the leadership in Washington and Moscow must find ways to address security threats even as the United States rebalances toward Asia. Moreover, he agrees with prominent statesmen like Zbigniew Brzezinski and Henry Kissinger that ultimately, Russia must be integrated into... MORE

Russian Military Transformation – Goal In Sight?
May 1, 2014 — Authors: Mr Keir Giles, Dr Andrew Monaghan View the Executive SummaryThe Russian Armed Forces have been undergoing major structural reform since 2008. Despite change at the most senior levels of leadership, the desired endstate for Russia's military is now clear; but this endstate is determined by a flawed political perception of the key threats... MORE

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Op-Ed: The POST “Post Cold War” Era in Europe
April 24, 2014 — Dr. Jeffrey D. McCausland Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine reflects neither strategic wisdom nor military strength. In fact, it reflects just the opposite. Putin invested over $50 billion and significant personal capital in the Sochi Olympics and the upcoming G8 Summit. That has now been squandered. It was clearly humiliating... MORE

Russia’s Counterinsurgency in North Caucasus: Performance and Consequences
March 1, 2014 — Author: Dr Ariel CohenView the Executive Summary The North Caucasus region has been a source of instability for the past several centuries. Most recently, Chechen aspirations to achieve full independence after the break-up of the Soviet Union led to two disastrous wars. While the active phase of the Chechen conflict ended in 2000 – more than a... MORE

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Legality in Cyberspace: An Adversary View
March 1, 2014 — Author: Mr Keir Giles, Dr Andrew MonaghanView the Executive Summary While conflict in cyberspace is not new, the legality of hostile cyber activity at a state level remains imperfectly defined. While there is broad agreement among the United States and its allies that cyber warfare would be governed by existing laws of armed conflict, with no need... MORE

New Realities: Energy Security in the 2010s and Implications for the U.S. Military
December 30, 2013 — Dr. Robert J. Bunker, LTC John D. Colwell, JrRevolutionary changes among energy producers and dramatically altered patterns of energy consumption across the planet are having profound implications for American national security in general and the U.S. Army specifically. For example, the reduced saliency of Africa and the Middle East as energy... MORE

Politics and Economics in Putin’s Russia
December 10, 2013 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank View the Executive SummaryIn one way or another, the papers included in this monograph, from the Strategic Studies Institute’s annual conference on Russia in May 2012, all point to the internal pathologies that render Russian security a precarious affair at the best of times. As the editor suggests, the very fact of this... MORE