Alexander Lennon: accepted articles should be prescriptive and make an argument

Mr. Lennon is the editor-in-chief of CSIS's flagship journal, The Washington Quarterly, focusing on global strategic trends and their public policy implications. In this interview Mr. Lennon talks about the requirements for submitted materials, the main reasons for non-acceptance of materials, and gives advice on how to write a publishable paper.

Ira Straus: Unipolarity will continue

Ira Straus, a Fulbright professor of political science and also the founder and U.S. coordinator of the Committee on Eastern Europe and Russia in NATO, argues that unipolarity has only begun and will run for at least another 50 – 100 years.

Ariel Cohen and Jeffrey Mankoff: How to improve Russia-U.S. relationship?

Ariel Cohen from the Heritage Foundation and Jeffrey Mankoff from the Center for Strategic and International Studies - in their special interviews for the Russian International Affairs Council offer their insightful takes on the U.S.-Russia relationship. They analyze the shortcomings in the relationship of both countries towards each other, trust issues and areas of potential cooperation; and give their prospective on the future of the U.S. – Russia relationship.

Obama`s Central Asian strategy. A. Fenenko

The beginning of the new presidential term for Vladimir Putin has coincided with the weakening of the Russian position in Central Asia. Back in May 2012, Russia increased friction with Tajikistan because of the conditions of its accession to the Customs Union

Research and innovation in the Arctic. A. Pilyasov

Geographical location no longer automatically makes a country an Arctic power. Becoming a major player in the Arctic requires daily painstaking and persistent work. Research and innovation activities in the Arctic zone are the priority area of efforts. This is what will determine Russia's retention of control over its Arctic zone in the future.

Public diplomacy and its actors. T. Zonova

NGO - an instrument of trust or an agent of influence?

Amidst digital revolution and the elimination of distinctions between domestic and foreign policies, public diplomacy as an integral part of soft power has come to the forefront of diplomaсy. Professional diplomats, as well as nongovernmental organizations, can be actors in public diplomacy. The legal status of NGOs varies from country to country. Particular attention is paid to the issue of foreign funding of these organizations. In Russia, there is nearly a thousand of NGOs, which are engaged in political activity and are playing an important role in the world. Taking this into consideration, the Law on "Foreign Agents" causes concern and stimulates the growth of protest.

The coup in Guinea-Bissau. C. Turyinskaya

In April 2012, the Republic of Guinea-Bissau went through a coup d'etat that has brought the military to power, disrupting both the constitutional order and the election process. These events make just an episode of the persistent crisis engulfing a small West African state, a former Portuguese colony. The roots of the coup are manifold and distinctly reflect diverse facets of the nation's political, economic and social problems. But the internal factor is the only driver of the process. Overcoming the crisis and the post-coup developments will hinge both on the society of Guinea-Bissau and the political and economic realities in the region.

IRAN: To Strike or Not to Strike? P. Stegniy

After some calm due to the regular rounds of talks between Iran and the 'five plus one' group held in Istanbul, Baghdad and Moscow, the Iranian issue is once again beginning to heat up

International cooperation in the exploration of the Arctic. A. Fadeyev

Due to enormous hydrocarbon reserves whose commercial extraction may compensate for the oil and gas production drop in its traditional extracting territories, Russia's continental shelf in the Arctic is currently seen as a key component of economy. World experience in the implementation of hydrocarbon projects indicates that international cooperation in the development of the Arctic fields may generate huge multiplication effect. What kind of strategy should Russia take in its Artic exploits and interaction with foreign partners?

Supercarriers – Washington's last-ditch argument. P. Tebin

Supercarriers are surely the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of the United States Navy. Since the Second World War, aircraft carriers have remained the foundation of the U.S. Navy and a key tool for national security policy. Despite this, there is constant debate in the American expert community about the role and place of aircraft carriers in today's world and about the need to maintain the fleet of aircraft carriers in its current form.

World trade in 100 years' time. V. Zagashvili

The question is if any trade will exist in the beginning of the next century, and if so, if it will remain a global trade. If we answer these questions in the affirmative and believe that trade will retain its international status, one can try to imagine which countries will be the key players in this respect, what its structure will be in terms of the distribution of goods and services, what trading methods will be the most popular.

Sovereignty in the 21st Century. E. Solovyov

Over the recent decades the attention of a wide range of experts in a number of Western countries, primarily in the US and Great Britain, has been literally riveted to the problem of state sovereignty. Different researchers are trying to prognosticate the trajectories of its development, or to substantiate the necessity to limit sovereignty of individual states; they also introduce concepts of "waning", "softened", "layered" sovereignty and the like into scientific and political lexicon.