Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Since Vladimir Putin has ascended to the Russian presidency, Russian relations with the United States have continued a decade-long transformation. The Russian leadership has been wrestling with the threat of America's role of the world's sole superpower (and Russia's demotion from superpower status), American aggression in Russia's traditional sphere of influence, and the continuing backlash against an idealized view of the United States that emerged during the collapse of communism. Balanced against this has been Putin's desire to create an environment conducive to economic development and to have Russia play an important role in international and European institutions. This paper will analyze Russian views of the United States in the Putin era. It will focus particularly on Russian views of the United States as a partner/threat in the post-Afghanistan and post-Gulf War II era. Specifically, it will attempt to assess the factors driving Russia's vacillating approaches to the United States, with a particular focus on domestic sources of foreign policy.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The decision to revise Russia’s parliamentary electoral system represents an interesting paradox. The assertion that adopting a more proportional electoral system, especially in an ethnically heterogeneous state, would favor authoritarianism over democracy is counterintuitive for many electoral system scholars. Yet most experts on Russian politics would react to the rival explanation—that President Putin is seeking to advance democracy in Russia—with disbelief. This paper examines the alteration in the context of Putin’s broader reform agenda. Based on the Russian case, it argues that political reforms usually considered beneficial to democracy can be used to undermine political competition and promote single-party dominance, at least in the short-term. Therefore, the events in Putin’s Russia have important implications for understanding the political futures of many countries caught in the proverbial “gray zone”.

Supporting Publications:
Supporting Document

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: As evidenced most clearly by the Ames and Hanssen cases, the Russian intelligence services? HUMINT operations continued unabated after the cold war?s end. Since then, and with the Western world focused on the war on terrorism following the 9/11 attacks, the Russian intelligence services have characteristically exploited the opportunity to seed these states and their allies with spies and intensify their espionage offensive, which is geared toward enhancing the personal-political fortunes of the chekists who have under the Putin regime gained control of the Russian state and economy. Drawing from multifarious sources, including newspapers, journals, government documents, scholarly articles, books, the Internet, and interviews, this paper assesses the nature and scope of Russia?s HUMINT activities and operations in the 21st century. I examine the tradecraft employed, HUMINT strengths and weaknesses, possible intelligence ?alliances,? the targets and nature of sought-after information, various cases, consumer-producer relations, and other relevant data in order to illuminate the continuing threat, and opportunities, to the West posed by contemporary Russian HUMINT capabilities, along with the implications for the war on terrorism and the political development of the post-Soviet Russian state.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov have launched a comprehensive modernization (their term) of Russia's armed forces since 2000. This paper assesses that modernization and seeks to assess the degree to which it has produced a demilitarized state, economy, and military instrument capable of effectively confronting Russia's contemporary security challenges

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: During the last several years Russia started more openly to use energy and natural resources related issues as a critical form of leverage in relationships with EU, CIS, and Northeast Asian countries. To get more political and economic maneuver Moscow is trying to become a more diversified seller of its natural resources looking to the East. Resource and environmental issues have became important components of its ties with Northeast Asian giants (China and Japan), as well as with both Korean states.Trying to take more proactive stand in solving Korean Peninsula security issue (in a multilateral format) Moscow is ready to make a real input to satisfy DPRK energy needs, thus giving way to Northeast Asian strategic projects to build pipelines and expand transportation networks through DPRK territory.Considering the security implications of environmental issues, the chemical spill in the Amur River waters in Northern China brought serious socioeconomic damage to the Russian territories in the delta. At the same time joint efforts by the US and Japan to help Russia in dismantling nuclear submarines and processing nuclear waste became a real input to the safety of the Russian Far East and Northeast Asia. This positive experience in the sphere of nuclear safety is a sound manifestation that it is worth trying to use the multilateral model to develop and realize CBMS to solve the Korean Peninsula issue. Overall, the main research questions of the proposed paper would be as follows:- How well calibrated is the Russian NEP, and what may be its tactical and strategic consequences for Russia itself?- How will NEP influence Russian security and economic ties with key EU and CIS countries, USA, China, Japan, and other Northeast Asian countries? - What may be security implications of possible conflicts for access to Russian natural resources among countries of Eurasia and Northeast Asia?- What may be security implications of environmental issues (such as trans-boundary air and water pollution, shortage of water, nuclear waste dissemination, etc.) in Northeast Asia?