Carnegie Moscow Center
Liberating itself from an authoritarian regime and overcoming internal differences is a formidable task for any nation, but outside intervention hardly makes it easier.
As the situation in Syria reaches a head, all actors in the conflict, including Russia, are deeply wound up in the crisis. And with time, challenges will only increase.
If a solution to the Syria problem is not found soon, not only will Syria descend into wholesale carnage, but the prospects for future conflict management in the world will become much bleaker.
Part of Russia's support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria stems from Putin's desire to use Russian foreign policy as an instrument for preserving his own power and trying to block the United States.
While Russia needs immigrants and its neighboring countries need Russia to employ their superfluous workforce, native population and migrants are now in the process of a painful mutual adjustment. Part of the problem is illegal immigration, which is tied to corruption in law enforcement.
A political transition, rather than regime change, may be the only chance for international cooperation on Syria.
The fact that Morsi’s victory was allowed to stand marks a major change in Egypt, but it is only one step in a process of transformation that will take time, be punctuated by many acrimonious battles, and in the end may not lead to democracy
The developments in Egypt over the past few days have thrown what had been a confused set of institutional arrangements into even greater disarray and threatened the already tenuous transition to democracy.
If United States and Russia fail to collaborate on urgent global issues, it could enhance the two countries’ mutual alienation, allow regional crises to run unabated, and even lead to a reconfiguration of the world’s strategic landscape.
The study of the Soviet drive toward collectivization in Kazakhstan and the resulting famine comes with a particular set of challenges.