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Getting It Wrong: Regional Cooperation and the Commonwealth of Independent States
Book

Getting It Wrong: Regional Cooperation and the Commonwealth of Independent States

Written by three of the West's leading experts on the former Soviet Union, this book offers a comprehensive assessment of how and why the Commonwealth of Independent States has failed.

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By Anders Aslund, Martha Brill Olcott, Sherman W. Garnett
Published on Jan 1, 1999

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Table of ContentsChapter OnePaperback - $19.95
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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.

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Source: Washington

On December 8, 1991, even before the Soviet Union was officially dissolved, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine met in the Belovezh Forest outside Minsk to lay the groundwork for the post-Soviet era. There they signed what became known as the Belovezh Accords, creating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Two weeks later, eight other Soviet republics joined the three founding members.

In the void left by the collapse of the USSR, the CIS was to become a superstructure that would coordinate the foreign and security policies of the member states, develop a common economic space, and provide for an orderly transition from the Soviet Union to the post-Soviet phase. In reality, the CIS has failed. For Russia, the CIS has not served as a vehicle for exerting control over its neighbors. As an organization, the CIS has not succeeded at reintegrating the post-Soviet states. The desire of the new nations to assert themselves as independent entities has proven more powerful than their urge to replace the Soviet Union with a new system of collective government.

Written by three of the West's leading experts on the former Soviet Union, this book offers a comprehensive assessment of how and why the CIS has failed.

Advance Praise

“The authors of this comprehensive study are all well-respected specialists in the field, and they present a broad-ranging picture of the experiences and problems that have arisen in the former Soviet space.”
—Ronald J. Hill, Department of Political Science, Trinity College, Dublin

“A unique and useful book.”
—Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs

About the Authors

Anders Aslund

Former Senior Associate, Director, Russian and Eurasian Program

Martha Brill Olcott

Former Senior Associate, Russia and Eurasia Program and, Co-director, al-Farabi Carnegie Program on Central Asia

Olcott is professor emerita at Colgate University, having taught political science there from 1974 to 2002. Prior to her work at the endowment, Olcott served as a special consultant to former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger.

Sherman W. Garnett

Authors

Anders Aslund
Former Senior Associate, Director, Russian and Eurasian Program
Anders Aslund
Martha Brill Olcott
Former Senior Associate, Russia and Eurasia Program and, Co-director, al-Farabi Carnegie Program on Central Asia
Martha Brill Olcott
Sherman W. Garnett
Eastern EuropeBelarusMoldova

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.

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