Recent Publications

The Russian Military in the 21st Century
June 3, 1997 — Author: Dr Alexei G Arbatov In April 1997, the U.S. Army War College held its Eighth Annual Strategy Conference, the topic of which was "Russia's Future as a World Power." Most of the speakers discussed various aspects of the many crises besetting Russia, and there were differing views on whether Russia would be able to surmount those crises and... MORE

Challenges and Options in the Caucasus and Central Asia
April 22, 1997 — Author: Dr Pavel K Baev In April 1997, the U.S. Army War College held its Eighth Annual Strategy Conference. This year's topic was "Russia's Future as a World Power." Dr. Pavel K. Baev, a senior researcher at the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Norway, discusses the disintegration of order along Russia's southern border. Following a... MORE

Why Russian Policy is Failing in Asia
April 2, 1997 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank Since its inception as a state, Russia has been both a European and an Asian power. Although Russia today, as was true during much of its history, is torn by an identity crisis over where it belongs, its elites have never renounced Russia's vital interests in Asia and the belief that it should be recognized as a great... MORE

The Dynamics of Russian Weapon Sales to China
March 4, 1997 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank Russia has recently sold or transferred many military weapons or technologies to China. Russian state policy has also officially joined with China in a relationship described as a strategic cooperative partnership. Some Russian diplomats also say that there is virtually complete identity with China on all issues of Asian... MORE

Ethnic Conflict and European Security: Lessons from the Past and Implications for the Future
October 1, 1996 — Author: Ms Maria Alongi On October 23-25, 1995, coinciding with the Bosnia peace talks being held in Dayton, Ohio, Women in International Security (WIIS), an international, nonpartisan educational program; The Friedrich-Eberet Foundation; the U.S. Institute of Peace; and the Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute sponsored a conference,... MORE

Finnish Security and European Security Policy
September 1, 1996 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank In 1995 Finland joined the European Union (EU). This action culminated several years of a fundamental reorientation of Finnish security policy as Finland moved from the neutrality imposed on it by the Soviet Union to a policy with a priority on European integration through the European Union. Finland, in joining the EU,... MORE

Central Asia: A New Great Game?
June 1, 1996 — Author: LTC Dianne L Smith In January 1996, the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted a conference on "Asian Security to the Year 2000." One focus of the conferees was the growing relevance of events in Central Asia. Perhaps nowhere on the continent was the... MORE

Russian Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region: Two Views
May 1, 1996 — Authors: Dr Stephen J Blank, Maj Gen Anatoly Bolyatko, Prof Peggy Falkenheim Meyer In May 1995, the British Ministry of Defence, the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, the RAND Corporation, the Institute for National Security Studies of the U.S. Air Force Academy, and King's College, London, hosted a conference at King's... MORE

Reform and the Revolution in Russian Defense Economics
May 19, 1995 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank As Russia's invasion of Chechnya shows, the Russian armed forces are suffering from tremendous shortages of capable leaders and soldiers. These problems, among others, relate directly to the shortage of funds for the military. Yet Russia cannot afford to spend more than it is now spending on the armed forces. This is the... MORE

Energy, Economics, and Security in Central Asia: Russia and Its Rivals
March 1, 1995 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to the creation of five new states in Central Asia. These states: Kazkahstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, have become both the object of international rivalries in Central Asia and the sources of new political forces as they act to enlarge their... MORE

Russia’s Invasion of Chechnya: A Preliminary Assessment
January 1, 1995 — Authors: Dr Stephen J Blank, Dr Earl H Tilford Jr On December 11, 1994, Russia invaded the secessionist republic of Chechnya in the North Caucasus. The aim was to suppress the republic's government, led by General Dzhokar Dudayev, compel it to accept Moscow's authority, and to force it to renounce its bid for independence and sovereignty. This... MORE

Energy and Security in Transcaucasia
September 1, 1994 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank One of the world's enduring regional conflicts is in Nagorno-Karabakh. This war pits local Armenians and their cousins from Armenia against Azerbaidzhan and has enmeshed Russia, Turkey and the Western allies (France, Great Britain, and the United States) in a complex series of regional relationships. The international... MORE