• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "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"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

The Russia-Georgia Conflict

With the escalation of violence between Georgia and Russia, and the apparent ceasefire of military operations by Russia, the role of the United States in the build-up and outbreak of the conflict has been largely muted.

Link Copied
By Michael McFaul
Published on Aug 11, 2008
Program mobile hero image

Program

Russia and Eurasia

The Russia and Eurasia Program continues Carnegie’s long tradition of independent research on major political, societal, and security trends in and U.S. policy toward a region that has been upended by Russia’s war against Ukraine.  Leaders regularly turn to our work for clear-eyed, relevant analyses on the region to inform their policy decisions.

Learn More

Source: CNN's The Glenn Beck Program

With the escalation of violence between Georgia and Russia, and the apparent ceasfire of military operations by Russia, the role of the United States in the build-up and outbreak of the conflict has been largely muted. Despite being Georgia's strongest Western ally, the U.S. seemed to do little in tempering the conflict.

Speaking to Glenn Beck of CNN, Carnegie's Michael McFaul argues that the U.S. severely lacks leverage with Russia and has no viable military option with which to respond to the conflict. Instead, it could counter Russian aspirations to become the hegemon in the region by using international forums to denounce Russia's actions: "[A] UN Security council resolution... [would] force the Russians to have to veto it and... the Chinese to have to make a say on that, because they`re the country that`s always talking about protecting territorial integrity of states... [T]his is a gross violation of the territorial integrity of Georgia. So that would I think be useful in terms of the symbolism."

Click Here for the Full Transcript

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

Michael McFaul
Former Senior Associate
Michael McFaul
Foreign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesCaucasusRussia

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

  • Hands holding up a book on a beach
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Carnegie’s Summer Beach Reads

    Carnegie experts recommend the books that kept them turning pages—and learning along the way.


      • Steve Feldstein
      • +8

      Sophia Besch, Eric Ciaramella, Steve Feldstein, …

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Enough with the Annual NATO Summits, Already?

    Over the past ten years, NATO has held almost as many summits as it did during the entirety of the Cold War. Are they still useful, or is it time to stop holding annual meetings?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Are Russia’s Influential Rotenberg Brothers Headed for a Fall?

    The security forces are targeting Arkady and Boris Rotenberg’s patronage network—and in Putin’s Russia, it’s extremely hard to stop a purge once it’s under way.

      Mikhail Komin

  • exterior of a building
    Commentary
    Emissary
    What’s Driving the Trump Administration’s Push to Dismantle the ICC?

    The move is an escalation of its war on multilateralism.

      Stewart Patrick

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    What Should We Take From Andrey Melnichenko’s Essay in the Economist?

    Andrey Melnichenko’s essay offers no answer to the fundamental question of how, under any kind of negotiated settlement, Europe can protect itself from the Russian ressentiment that is inevitable in all scenarios except for an outright victory for Putin.

      Leonid Bershidsky

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.