Comment on Interview with Alena Ledeneva http://www.rferl.org/content/interview-russia-alena-ledeneva-sistema/24944910.html
 
Ledeneva is one of the few to have confronted the reality that in order to reform Russia and the other post-Soviet republics, one has to understand the mechanisms underlying the system. 
 
Interestingly…

On the eve of prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington, the Obama administration and friendly media have positioned the new Indian leader as a leader who is open to reforming big government and implementing free market policies.   But critics of Modi say that the much heralded economic performance of his Gurajat state, based on…

 
                                 By Jiri and Leni Valenta
America is slowly waking up, but it had better do so much, much faster!  We are currently facing multiple and immediate…

Winter is approaching and the European Union, following the lead of the U.S.A., is firmly persisting in its policy of sanctions against the Russian Federation. Yet the prospect of closing down of Gazprom's pipelines, which cover about 30% of the gas requirements of the European area, seems now to be worrying the political establishment of Brussels…

The Ukraine crisis remains one of the most vexed issues on the international agenda. The interested parties are making efforts to resolve it, and important steps towards peace have already been taken. So far, however, this is not enough to halt the bloodshed. The OSCE is actively involved in monitoring events in Ukraine, but many people believe the…

Russia's leaders have long recognized a need for competitive politics.  They tried twice, in 1995 and in 2006, to create a two-party system from above. Most observers among those who even took note of these attempts ridiculed them. Both times, they stressed that the parties created from above were "pro-Kremlin," so the attempt to…

The U.S. together with five Sunni Arab nations, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, began an air campaign against ISIS and Al Qaeda strongholds  in Syria  last night.  The emergence of this coalition is a major breakthrough for America.  Targets included an important oil refinery as part of the need to deprive ISIS of…

According to the classical ‘arms race’ theory by Lewis Richardson, military preparations of one’s side are directly proportional to rival’s potential and inversely – to its own accumulated arsenals. However differential equations don’t leave space for political choice as mathematically there can be only three…

 
Despite Hollywood romanticizing about Bonds and Bournes, one of the most prevalent forms of modern intelligence activity is also arguably the least emphasized: economic and industrial espionage. Aimed at garnering a financial and innovation advantage for countries seeking greater influence in a highly globalized world, this activity is not…

Mikhail Gorbachev was naive.  Boris Yeltsin was obsessed by his power struggle with Gorbachev.  As a result, Soviet citizens who overnight, without their consent found themselves living in foreign countries, were left without protection of vital rights and interests. As a result, the USSR and its successor state, the Russian Federation, were…

As events in Syria have been unfolding, a remark made several years ago by King Abdullah of Jordan sticks in my mind. Abdullah, an intelligent, enlightened monarch like his father King Hussein, was explaining why he was optimistic about the future of the Arab world. He spoke about a new generation of Arab leaders whose views were like his--for example…

America is being challenged by three serious crises at the present time and triage is necessary.   Metastasizing ISIS, more than Ukraine or Ebola is a pandemic situation and the most serious of the three. It´s Flames of War video must be taken as seriously as the beheading videos of three hostages earlier.  ISIS´s language of…