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.
Russia’s use of military power to obtain geopolitical objectives in Georgia is reminiscent of strategy pursued by 19th century superpowers to gain resources and power on the international stage. The West must make it clear to Russia that their long-term relationships are at stake if the country does not withdraw its military.
Russia’s use of force against Georgia – a close ally of the U.S. in a strategic region for oil and gas transport – is the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall that Russian forces have violated another country’s sovereignty and international law. A resurgent Russia is testing the will of the international community to hold it responsible for its actions.
Despite President Bush's condemnation of Russia's continued attacks on Georgia, the international community has yet to form a united response to the crisis. Western powers must make it clear that Russia will pay a high price for its actions through political and economic sanctions and possible suspension of the NATO-Russia relationship.
Russia’s response to Georgia’s large-scale military operation in South Ossetia transformed the conflict from a regional dispute over an obscure ethnic group into an emerging international crisis between Russia and the West. While Georgia may have succeeded in causing Russia to move in with heavy forces, the United States and Europe need to pause and think before following Saakashvili's script.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a premodern giant who defied the limits of human ability and the forces of nature. His world was that of ethical absolutes, unshakable values, spiritual discipline and self-sacrificial commitment.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev inherited a broken government bureaucracy unable to recruit skilled workers when he took office. Medvedev's proposed solution to create a national database of qualified candidates does not address the fact that there is no place for a truly transparent and merit-based recruiting process in Putin's political system.
The ascension of China and Russia as autocratic global powers will redefine the power balance within the international community. Robert Kagan and Francis Fukuyama debate how the United States can successfully manage this transition.
The slow down in the spread of democracy can be attributed to high oil prices, Islamic extremism in some democratic countries, and the success of the authoritarian model of economic and political development in China.
Interest in the dark side of Soviet history is modest now compared with the nationwide yearning in the late 1980s for the truth about the Soviet regime's crimes. But it may be enough to make the Kremlin want to preempt or control such interest.

























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