Latest Articles about Middle East
FROM CIS TO CSTO: CAN A “CORE” BE PRESERVED?
At the Moscow summit of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and in its wake, Russian officials have publicly acknowledged the fragmentation of the "post-Soviet space" and announced some corresponding decisions on two levels: the lexical and the political-military (see EDM, June 24 and... MORE
PUTIN SEEKS STRONGER ROLE FOR COLLECTIVE SECURITY FORCES
Russian President Vladimir Putin, elected as the new chairman of the Council of Collective Security of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), has pledged an enhanced role for the CSTO in regional security. He held out the prospect of future cooperation with NATO at the... MORE
RUSSIA DEFLECTS EUROPEAN CRITICISM WITH THE PRETENCE OF SELF-ISOLATION
The traditional "Russia day" at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is always a lively affair, but last Wednesday, June 22, it came close to full-blown scandal. The 144-page report on Russia's fulfillment of its commitments to this organization contained more than 400... MORE
CIS COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY ORGANIZATION HOLDS SUMMIT
On June 22-23, Moscow hosted a meeting of the heads of state of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) and concurrent meetings of the CSTO countries' ministers of foreign affairs, defense ministers, and secretaries of the national security councils.... MORE
RUSSIAN POLITICAL THINKERS JOIN THE DEBATE ON EUROPE
Irony and satisfaction – these are two emotions with which most Russian policymakers and analysts observe the acute identity crisis that the European Union currently finds itself in. Against the backdrop of the Commonwealth of Independent States' inglorious demise, the steady growth of the EU... MORE
POST-PUTIN RUSSIA: POLITICAL RUMBLINGS, POTENTIAL PRESIDENTS
Politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum. Confounding skeptics who saw him as weak and isolated, President Vladimir Putin has succeeded in eliminating all serious, organized political challenges to his "vertical power structure." But new political forces are now surfacing and jostling to fill the political... MORE
CHUBAIS SURVIVES YET AGAIN, BUT THE PROSPECTS FOR HIS REFORMS ARE NOT GREAT
In Russian politics, there is no other individual -- except, certainly for Vladimir Putin -- that triggers so much emotional reaction as Anatoly Chubais. Many impoverished Russians hold him personally responsible for the dubious privatization program of the mid-1990s, while new entrepreneurs praise him as... MORE
Understanding the Second Houthi Rebellion in Yemen
2004 witnessed a lengthy battle between Shabab al-Mu'minoon (Believing Youth), a Shi’a religious organization, and the Yemeni government. Believing Youth’s leader and inspirational figure, Hussein Badr ad-Deen al-Houthi, was killed in early September and his death marked the end of that conflict. The fighting, however,... MORE
GENERAL BALUYEVSKY RAISES THREAT OF MILITARY FORCE AGAINST TERRORISTS
General Yuri Baluyevsky, Chief of the Russian General Staff, has raised the issue of Russia's ultimate use of military force against terrorists. Baluyevsky signaled the possible of use of military force against terrorists, as a last resort, during a meeting with his Italian counterpart, Admiral... MORE
RUSSIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY: STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS
The marking of "Russia Day" on June 12 triggered another round of debate about Russian identity. In his speech to a celebratory concert on Red Square, President Vladimir Putin said he was certain that Russia faces a "shining future" as "a great and flourishing power."... MORE