Journal of International Studies

More than any other European state, Germany is responsible for developing and implementing the European Union’s (EU’s) policy toward Russia. Berlin needs to accept this responsibility, assume leadership, and develop a Russia policy fit for the twenty-first century. To succeed, Germans need to closely watch the evolution of the economic, social, and political situation in Russia and adapt their policy as necessary. The next several years in Russia will be interesting, and the next two decades will be decisive for the country’s development. Recommendations for Germany Base the new policy on German and EU interests, principles, and practical needs as well as a realistic assessment of Russia rather than mere impressions of what the Russian people need or a desire to influence the country’s domestic politics.    Broaden people-to-people contacts with ordinary Russians to create social compatibility between Russia and the rest of Europe.   Demand, when necessary, that ...

The strategic triangle from the Cold War is returning. Only this time, Russia is the prize.

Moscow seeks to combine pragmatism with maximum leverage, at least until Iran achieves a détente with the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the SCO Summit this year. Image Credit: REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin To the surprise of many observers, it was France rather than Russia that played the lead role in opposing last weekend’s proposed nuclear deal with Iran. There should have been no surprise, at least in the case of Moscow. A close study of Russian policy shows that Moscow’s role in the Iranian drama is more complex and subtle than simply fanning tensions between Iran and the West. Russian officials have to balance a complex set of goals in their relations with Tehran: supporting nonproliferation, averting war or regime change, maintaining regional security, minimizing sanctions, enhancing Moscow’s diplomatic leverage, limiting U.S. influence in Eurasia, and advancing energy and economic cooperation....

The “Great Triangle” of the Asia-Pacific region formed by the United States, Russia, and China is particularly important in both geopolitical and military-strategic terms.

In Tokyo all last week, I heard quite a few comments on the recently held inaugural 2+2 meeting between the foreign and defense ministers of Russia and Japan. The initiative for holding such conferences had come from the Japanese side, who were able to sell it to Moscow. For  Japan , it is a big thing: Tokyo only maintains similar formats in relations with its principal ally, the United States, and also with another ally, Australia. Russia, by contrast, is not only a former Cold War adversary, but also a country with which Japan still does not have a peace treaty, which also means that there is a territorial issue between the two. What is then the purpose of the Russo-Japanese 2+2, and what are its prospects? When the Japanese reached out to the Russians with their proposal, one thing they wanted to emphasize was their strategic autonomy. Historically, Tokyo had long been stung by Moscow's view of it merely as a Washington's ward. Of course, the Japanese had told  their ...

Last Sunday, Georgia has completed its  first constitutional transition of power  since gaining independence 22 years ago. The Georgian people have a big reason to celebrate, even if some are still reeling from last year's electoral defeat and others may eventually become disappointed in the hopes of a quick material improvement in their lives. Later this month, Georgian leaders will also participate in the European Union's Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius , where Tbilisi is likely to sign an association agreement with the EU. This would agree with the Georgian elites' long-time yearning to be joined with Europe. At Sunday's inauguration ceremony, one foreign delegation was conspicuously absent. Diplomatic relations with Russia, broken off by Tbilisi at the time of the  2008 war in South Ossetia , have not been restored. Moscow, for its part, has recognized independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and set up military bases in both. Despite the recent relaxat...

Central Asia is in a period of transition. Many tenets of Soviet infrastructure and culture have expired and rather than renew these precedents, the countries are 

Were states to get into a tussle over the Arctic someday, they wouldn't necessarily be irrational.

An Interview for the Valdai International Discussion Club

CAIRO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A delegation of Russian officials arrived in Egypt Thursday to meet with top officials in a landmark visit that aims to boost military and political cooperation between the two countries. The visit comes at a time when traditional Egyptian ally, the United States, withholds the delivery of some military aid. On Thursday, Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu to discuss how to increase and develop military collaboration, state-run MENA reported. Sisi heralded the talks as a sign of a new stage of fruitful cooperation and a boost to the historic relation between the two countries, which dates back to the mid-1950s, emphasizing the partnership would help fulfill mutual goals and return security to the Middle East region. Egypt was one of Moscow's closest Arab allies for two decades, starting in the 1950s under the Egypt's late nationalist leader Gamal Abdel-Nasser, but relations between...

Two decades after the Cold War removed the Damocles' sword of mutually-assured destruction in a sea of nuclear fire from over our heads, and, in the words of George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger and Sam Nunn, " made the doctrine of mutual Soviet-American deterrence obsolete ", the Russian decision to update, modernize and upgrade its nuclear forces is seen as a worrisome harbinger of a new era of strategic competition between Moscow and Washington. But Russian president Vladimir Putin is simply carrying out a 2012 election  promise : "We should not tempt anyone by allowing ourselves to be weak. We will, under no circumstances, surrender our strategic deterrent capability. Indeed, we will strengthen it." Russia has signed a series of arms-control treaties with the United States that place strict limits on both the number of nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles, but both Moscow and Washington contend that arms limitations accords do not pr...