THE INCONSISTENCIES OF RUSSIAN MIGRATION POLICY: POLITICAL RISKS AND SOCIAL CHALLENGES
By Marlène Laruelle (6/17/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
As the Federal Migration Service prepares to draw up new legislation on migrant workers, the Kremlin’s policy on both migration and the rise of xenophobia remain contradictory. The Russian authorities’ reluctance to take a clear position on these issues reinforces the tensions in Russia itself and worsens Moscow’s image in the emigration countries, particularly in Central Asia. The failure to find a solution to this question could open the door to harmful forces of destabilization both domestically and in the emigration countries.
RUSSIAN PRESSURE AFFECTS UN STANCE ON GEORGIAN CONFLICTS
By Johanna Popjanevski (6/3/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On May 27, Georgia accused the UN Secretary General of giving in to Russian blackmail in his latest report on the situation in Abkhazia. The report – produced after Moscow and Sukhumi refused to take part in scheduled Geneva talks with Georgia – fails to refer to the breakaway republic as part of Georgia, and takes no account of Tbilisi’s requests for an international law enforcement mission there. The episode suggests that Russia has again used its influence in the UN Security Council to legitimize its policies and presence in Georgia, and highlights a need for Western states to take a determined stance with regard to Georgia’s territorial integrity.
CENTRAL ASIA STRIVES TO RESIST NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION TIDE
By Richard Weitz (6/3/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The nuclear disorders in East Asia contrast vividly with the nonproliferation progress in the neighboring region of Central Asia. Whereas North Korea’s nuclear testing is threatening to precipitate of a horizontal nuclear proliferation wave in surrounding countries, the Central Asian states are leading a campaign to strengthen the global nonproliferation regime by making their region a nonproliferation paradigm. Unfortunately, the Central Asians are not masters of their fate; great power politics continue to impinge on their ability to pursue their nonproliferation goals.
YEREVAN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS DEEPEN THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN ARMENIA
By Blanka Hancilova (6/3/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On May 31, the first Yerevan mayoral elections were bitterly contested by the ruling Armenian Republican Party and the opposition Armenian National Congress, represented by the first president of independent Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan. The elections were marred by numerous violations, including vote buying and instances of violence and voter intimidation. Predictably, according to the official results, the Republican Party secured a landslide victory and the mayoral office.
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Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.