• Research
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie India logoCarnegie lettermark logo
AI
REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

Paper

The Complexity of Success: The U.S. Role in Russian Rule of Law Reform

Western assistance should focus on catalyzing domestic reform, a strategy that has received little attention to date. Matthew J. Spence argues that reform can be successful when two conditions are present: first, a policy entrepreneur who favors reform and enjoys some political space to make efforts reality; and second, a plan to implement reforms already part of the policy debate.

Link Copied
By Matthew J. Spence
Published on Jul 26, 2005

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)

Summary
In the 1990s, the United States sought to promote the rule of law in many parts of the former Soviet Union and beyond, often with little success. Yet in 2001, Russia adopted a liberal new Criminal Procedure Code and introduced jury trials after nearly a decade of U.S. rule-of-law assistance that supported precisely these steps. How did U.S. policy contribute to this reform? Why did these reforms succeed while others failed?

In this new Carnegie Paper, Matthew J. Spence argues that Western assistance should focus on catalyzing domestic reform, a strategy that has received little attention to date.  He argues that reform can be successful when two conditions are present: first, a policy entrepreneur who favors reform and enjoys some political space to make efforts reality; and second, a plan to implement reforms already part of the policy debate.

Click on the link above for the full text of this Carnegie Paper.

About the Author
Matthew J. Spence is a director of the Truman National Security Project and Associate World Fellow at Yale University.

A limited number of print copies are available.
Request a copy  

About the Author

Matthew J. Spence

Matthew J. Spence

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)
North AmericaUnited StatesEastern EuropePolitical ReformDemocracyEconomyMilitaryForeign Policy

Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie India

  • Commentary
    AI in Outer Space: Opportunities, Risks, and the Governance Gap

    How is AI reshaping space security, creating governance challenges, and where does international diplomacy stand today?

      Tejas Bharadwaj, Almudena Azcárate Ortega

  • Paper
    Threading the Needle: India’s Path Forward with China

    After the chill in ties between 2020 and 2024 that brought India–China relations to their lowest point in several decades, the two countries have engaged each other afresh. This paper argues that there are predominantly four imperatives guiding India’s approach to China, and they exist in an order of priority.

      Saheb Singh Chadha

  • Article
    Managing Divergence: India’s BRICS Presidency in 2026

    This piece argues that India’s central challenge is not managing a single flashpoint but resolving the underlying tension between expansion and institutional coherency of the BRICS grouping.

      Vrinda Sahai

  • Article
    India–Africa Strategic Partnership: Challenges, Potential, and Possible Pathways

    A partnership between India, a country of subcontinental size, and Africa, a continent of fifty-four countries, may seem asymmetric until one notes that both are home to nearly the same number of people—1.4 billion. This essay spells out the existing challenges to the partnership, its optimal potential, and the possible pathways to realize it over the next quarter-century.

      Rajiv Bhatia

  • Commentary
    The Unresolved Challenges in U.S.–India Semiconductor Cooperation

    The U.S.–India semiconductor cooperation story is well-stocked with top-level strategic intent. What remains unresolved, however, are some underlying challenges that will determine whether the cooperation actually functions. Three such friction points stand out.

      Shruti Mittal

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie India
Carnegie India logo, white
Unit C-4, 5, 6, EdenparkShaheed Jeet Singh MargNew Delhi – 110016, IndiaPhone: 011-40078687
  • Research
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie India
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.