Russian Aggression

{
  "authors": [
    "Michael McFaul"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "russia",
  "programs": [
    "Russia and Eurasia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "Caucasus",
    "Russia",
    "Georgia"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

In The Media

Russian Aggression

With reports that Russian troops remain in Georgia, the West continues its diplomatic push to resolve the conflict. Yet the U.S. and its allies have limited leverage with which to influence Russian policy.

By Michael McFaul

Published on Aug 15, 2008

Source: CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight

With reports that Russian troops remain in Georgia, the West continues its diplomatic push to resolve the conflict. In an interview with CNN’s Lou Dobbs, Michael McFaul acknowledges that the West does not have enough leverage over Russia to influence its actions. He explains that the U.S. could have helped prevent the crisis in the first place if it had dealt with the, 'frozen conflicts' in South Ossetia and Abkhazia earlier: “We needed a negotiated settlement and we needed real international peacekeepers.”

He reiterates that now the primary U.S. goal should be to "get the Russian troops back to their pre-invasion places.”

Click here to watch

About the Author

Michael McFaul

Former Senior Associate

In addition to his role at Carnegie, McFaul is Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and associate professor of political science at Stanford University.

Recent Work

Article
Why a Democratic Russia Should Join NATO
- Леонид Гозман, Michael McFaul
Report
Russia at a Crossroads: Upcoming Elections Defining Issue
- Michael McFaul, Sanja Tatic

Foreign Policy North America United States Caucasus Russia Georgia

Carnegie 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 Endowment for International Peace

Commentary
Strategic Europe
Taking the Pulse: Is it NATO’s Job to Support Trump’s War of Choice?
Donald Trump has demanded that European allies send ships to the Strait of Hormuz while his war of choice in Iran rages on. He has constantly berated NATO while the alliance’s secretary-general has emphatically supported him.
Rym Momtaz, ed.
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
After Ilia II: What Will a New Patriarch Mean for Georgia?
The front-runner to succeed Ilia II, Metropolitan Shio, is prone to harsh anti-Western rhetoric and frequent criticism of “liberal ideologies” that he claims threaten the Georgian state. This raises fears that under his leadership the Georgian Orthodox Church will lose its unifying role and become an instrument of ultraconservative ideology.
Bashir Kitachaev
Research
India and a Changing Global Order: Foreign Policy in the Trump 2.0 Era
Trump 2.0 has unsettled India’s external environment—but has not overturned its foreign policy strategy, which continues to rely on diversification, hedging, and calibrated partnerships across a fractured order.
+6
Milan Vaishnav, ed., Sameer Lalwani, Tanvi Madan, …
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Lukashenko’s Bromance With Trump Has a Sell-By Date
Lukashenko is willing to make big sacrifices for an invitation to Mar-a-Lago or the White House. He also knows that the clock is ticking: he must squeeze as much out of the Trump administration as he can before congressional elections in November leave Trump hamstrung or distracted.
Artyom Shraibman
Collection
The Middle Power Moment?
The world has entered an era of upheaval—a period of heightened geopolitical rivalry, deepening political polarization, quickening technological change, glaring economic inequality, accelerating environmental crises, and eroding respect for international law. This moment of disruption and fluidity is also one of opportunity, however. It provides openings for middle powers, both established and emerging, to exercise unaccustomed agency and influence the future of global order.
Carnegie scholars are analyzing middle power responses to this moment of upheaval and assessing whether—and under what conditions—these states can contribute to practical problem solving. They are asking critical, concrete questions: What countries, precisely, are we talking about when we refer to middle powers? In what issue areas do their priorities converge and diverge, including across North-South divides? In what domains can middle powers pack a punch, rather than produce a whimper? Are they willing to shoulder actual burdens and responsibility? Finally, how can middle powers assert themselves globally, without running afoul of or threatening their relations with the United States or China?

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Taking the Pulse: Is it NATO’s Job to Support Trump’s War of Choice?

Donald Trump has demanded that European allies send ships to the Strait of Hormuz while his war of choice in Iran rages on. He has constantly berated NATO while the alliance’s secretary-general has emphatically supported him.

Rym Momtaz, ed.

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

After Ilia II: What Will a New Patriarch Mean for Georgia?

The front-runner to succeed Ilia II, Metropolitan Shio, is prone to harsh anti-Western rhetoric and frequent criticism of “liberal ideologies” that he claims threaten the Georgian state. This raises fears that under his leadership the Georgian Orthodox Church will lose its unifying role and become an instrument of ultraconservative ideology.

Bashir Kitachaev

Research

India and a Changing Global Order: Foreign Policy in the Trump 2.0 Era

Trump 2.0 has unsettled India’s external environment—but has not overturned its foreign policy strategy, which continues to rely on diversification, hedging, and calibrated partnerships across a fractured order.

- +6
Milan Vaishnav, ed., Sameer Lalwani, Tanvi Madan, …

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Lukashenko’s Bromance With Trump Has a Sell-By Date

Lukashenko is willing to make big sacrifices for an invitation to Mar-a-Lago or the White House. He also knows that the clock is ticking: he must squeeze as much out of the Trump administration as he can before congressional elections in November leave Trump hamstrung or distracted.

Artyom Shraibman

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wearing an orange cap, and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, dressed in saffron robes, are greeting supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a roadshow ahead of the Indian General Elections in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, on April 6, 2024.

Collection

The Middle Power Moment?

The world has entered an era of upheaval—a period of heightened geopolitical rivalry, deepening political polarization, quickening technological change, glaring economic inequality, accelerating environmental crises, and eroding respect for international law. This moment of disruption and fluidity is also one of opportunity, however. It provides openings for middle powers, both established and emerging, to exercise unaccustomed agency and influence the future of global order.

Carnegie scholars are analyzing middle power responses to this moment of upheaval and assessing whether—and under what conditions—these states can contribute to practical problem solving. They are asking critical, concrete questions: What countries, precisely, are we talking about when we refer to middle powers? In what issue areas do their priorities converge and diverge, including across North-South divides? In what domains can middle powers pack a punch, rather than produce a whimper? Are they willing to shoulder actual burdens and responsibility? Finally, how can middle powers assert themselves globally, without running afoul of or threatening their relations with the United States or China?