Section: Brookings (USA)
Will Putin prefer Obama’s successor?
By all appearances, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin don’t care much for each other. Putin reportedly has concluded he cannot work with Obama and will wait for a new U.S. president in 2017. Looking at the field of candidates, that would seem a major miscalculation — a miscalculation that Putin has made...
Ukraine: Just a little historical perspective
Crises telescope time. They focus us on the urgency of the now and, as important as they are, sometimes they distract us from enduring truths and long-term strategies. The crisis over Ukraine is no exception. We worry about war and escalation; we despair about refugees and suffering; and we naturally focus on ceasefires and their violations. This...
Greece’s Russian fantasy; Russia’s European delusion
The striking outcome of this Sunday’s Greek referendum is that the collective attitude departed so decisively from common sense. The question on the ballot was convoluted, but the voters were well-informed about the EU’s demands. Having spent a week lining up at ATMs, Greeks grasped the reality of the coming bankruptcy—and yet, they...
Will Putin roar again?
Brandon Valeriano and Ryan C. Maness believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a weak and discredited “Paper Tiger” and not a long-term threat to the West. Economist Sergey Aleksashenko warns against too easily discounting Russia as weak. Pavel Baev counters that Aleksashenko misunderstands the sources of Russian strength. This debate is...
The meaning of Russia’s nuclear threats
Event Information July 8, 2015 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EDTSaul/Zilkha Rooms Brookings Institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20036 This event has reached capacity and registration is now closed. In an unwelcome throwback from the Cold War past, Russian diplomacy in recent months has featured a variety of nuclear threats, ranging...
The BRICS Summit: A shadow of the former self it never was
The BRICS are gathering in Ufa, Russia on July 9 for their seventh annual Summit. When this group came into being, in the turbulent days of the global financial crisis, it was heralded both as the future of economic growth and as a new grouping that was set to challenge the West for the leadership of the international order. How things have...
Saudi’s star prince keeps rising, visits Putin in St. Petersburg
Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman visited St. Petersburg this week, and signed several agreements with the Russians concerning oil cooperation, space cooperation, peaceful nuclear energy cooperation, and nuclear technology sharing. It is another high-profile mission for the 29-year-old son of King Salman bin...
Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling: What is he compensating for?
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a new “military-patriotic recreation park” near Moscow. His speech there made headlines, and not because the park is what one Western reporter called a “military version of Disneyland,” where kids can fire rocket-propelled grenades. (Sounds like the kind of park that I would have wanted to...
Is Russia really a threat to NATO?
Michael O’Hanlon joined a Russia Today panel to discuss the ongoing crisis between Russia and NATO. While O’Hanlon notes that bringing Ukraine into NATO would be counterproductive, a new security architecture for the region — one that includes Moscow and NATO — is a good idea. Authors Michael E. O’Hanlon Publication:...
Confidence Games: Azerbaijan, the European Olympics, and the West
A recent open letter written by American and European experts and former officials concluded “the government of Azerbaijan cannot be both a respected member of the international community and a repressive, kleptocratic autocracy.” However, with the first-ever European Games that open today in Baku, Azerbaijan’s leadership is trying...
