Strategic Studies Institute

Caucasus Studies

Added July 14, 2010

Type: Book

The Russian Military Today and Tomorrow: Essays in Memory of Mary Fitzgerald. Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank, Dr. Richard Weitz.

The essays in this volume represent both a memorial and an analytical call to action. Mary Fitzgerald of the Hudson Institute was one of the most brilliant and vivacious practitioners of the study of the Russian and Chinese militaries, whose insights helped not just to put those fields of study on the map, but also to influence U.S. military thinking.

Added June 10, 2010

Type: Op-Ed

Wanted: A Strategy for the Black Sea. Authored by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.

Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the June 2010 newsletter.

Added September 28, 2007

Type: Monograph

Turkmenistan and Central Asia after Niyazov. Authored by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.

Turkmenistan, a key natural gas producer in Central Asia is undergoing a transition from the sultanistic regime of President Sapirmurat Niyazov to some other form of rule. It also is being courted by all the major powers in Central Asian politics. This monograph examines the domestic dynamics of succession here and in Central Asia and the entwined international rivalry or great game for energy access and influence over regional security in Central Asia.

Added July 02, 2007

Type: Monograph

Political Trends in the New Eastern Europe: Ukraine and Belarus. Authored by Dr. Arkady Moshes, Dr. Vitali Silitski.

In both cases, the interplay of domestic and foreign factors of security is critical to any grasp of the issues in Belarus and Ukraine and thus to sound policy analysis and policymaking in regard to them. This interplay is one of the defining features of the international security agenda that the U.S. Army and the U.S. Government grapple with on a daily basis.

Added March 22, 2007

Type: Monograph

U.S. Interests in Central Asia and the Challenges to Them. Authored by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.

The author assesses U.S. interests in Central Asia and the challenges to them. He recommends policies designed to meet those challenges to American policy in this increasingly more important area of the world.

Added March 08, 2007

Type: Monograph

Russia, the United States, and the Caucasus. Authored by Dr. R. Craig Nation.

Many factors have ensured that the Caucasus would become a source of significant international engagement and concern. While highlighting conflicting interests, the author explores areas of Russian and American shared priorities and mutual advantage that may provide a foundation for containing conflict and heading off further regional disintegration.

Added November 01, 2006

Type: Letort Papers

Alliances and American National Security. Authored by Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.

In this era of American predominance, alliances are more compelling than ever. The United States needs allies to generate capabilities that amplify its power, create a basis of legitimacy for the exercise of its power, avert impulses to counterbalance its power, and steer partners away from strategic apathy or excessive self-reliance.

Added February 01, 2003

Type: Monograph

Russia in Afghanistan and Chechnya: Military Strategic Culture and the Paradoxes of Asymmetric Conflict. Authored by Major Robert M. Cassidy.

The author uses a detailed assessment of the Russian experience in Afghanistan and Chechnya to draw important conclusions about asymmetric warfare. Even in this era of asymmetry, the U.S. Army exhibits a cultural preference for the "big war" paradigm. He suggests that the U.S. military in general, including the Army, needs a cultural transformation to master the challenge of asymmetry fully