Carnegie Moscow Center
In this global era, the world faces a host of security challenges which cannot be resolved by any one nation, especially through the unilateral use of military force. One key issue that requires urgent international attention is the military use of outer space.
Although the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission, which aims to enhance cooperation between the two countries on a broad range of shared interests, appears promising so far, the two sides must work together closely to ensure it continues to produce results.
When NATO leaders convene in November, they will undertake a reexamination of the alliance’s policy on nuclear weapons, a review that, spurred by recent nonproliferation initiatives, could split NATO’s members if not handled carefully.
As the melting Arctic ice cap opens new shipping lanes and makes it easier to access strategic energy reserves, countries are racing to gain control over the Arctic’s abundant natural resources.
While the "reset" in U.S.–Russian relations has come with closer cooperation on arms control, Afghanistan, and Iran, as long as Russia's system of personalized power rests on anti-Western principles, a true reset is unattainable.
The signing of the New START in April 2010 was a major step forward in building a legally binding, verifiable strategic arms reduction framework, but more action is necessary to overcome persistent mutual mistrust and bureaucratic obstacles hampering further force reductions.
Despite its importance, Russia’s perspective on the war in Afghanistan has typically been missing from previous analyses of coalition policy. Moscow views Afghanistan largely through the prism of security threats to itself and its Central Asian neighborhood.
President Obama should assess whether any other leaders of major countries are seriously prepared to pursue a nuclear-weapon-free world. If some are, he should invite them to join him in detailing a ten-year action plan to minimize the dangers posed by fissile materials and maximize the potential of peaceful nuclear energy.
By the beginning of the twenty-first century, Russia had recovered from its domestic crisis, and so had its global ambitions. While Moscow’s principal interests still lie mostly toward the West, the Middle East is back on Moscow’s radar screen and Russia’s withdrawal from the region has been reversed.
Russian policy makers need to open space for public debate and engage in substantive discussions on critical global issues, and Western governments and institutions need to open the door to independent Russian voices.