Putin’s iron grip on Russia is a legacy of empire
The social divisions of Russia’s imperial age still hamper opposition today
Is Russia headed for a return to Stalinism?
Putin can’t reconstruct the regime that Stalin built — or save Russia from chaos
What the new ‘Kremlinology’ reveals about Putin’s motives and power
Invading Ukraine may have left him weaker than he has been in a decade
Why democracies win more wars than autocracies
Like Putin, dictators tend to start risky wars, our research shows
Putin’s warning about Russian ‘fifth columns’ has a long, sordid lineage
He is suggesting that anyone with a Western lifestyle could be a traitor
Putin is discovering that overwhelming military power can be a curse
As Stalin learned in Finland, small countries can inflict serious damage on invading superpowers
There’s a reason Putin can be so aggressive: Oil.
Putin’s personalist rule leaves few domestic checks on his power.
In words and deeds, Putin shows he’s rejecting even Soviet-era borders
His speech this week makes it clear he’s out to restore “historic Russia”
What Lt. Col. Vindman’s critics get wrong about Jews who fled the Soviet Union
To criticize his impeachment testimony, Republicans suggest there was a country called Ukraine in the 1970s.
Republicans say that Trump’s quid pro quos were normal. Here’s why they’re wrong.
The body of existing testimony shows how Trump has crossed the line
Why Iran’s ‘oil weapon’ isn’t that scary
Blocking access to oil supplies rarely works as a strategy.
How has Tiananmen changed China?
Violence can influence people for a long time — despite repression — because families talk about it.
Why Maoism still resonates in China today
We found this nostalgia extends even to the Cultural Revolution.
How Alabama’s new abortion law echoes Communist Albania’s extreme abortion ban
With no contraception either, women had high maternal mortality — and a high abortion rate.
At long last, peace might be possible between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Here’s what’s needed.
One-shot peace deals tend to dissolve. A regional approach may help.
100 years later, Russia is still revising the story of the imperial family’s execution by Red Army guards.
[caption id="attachment_76458" align="aligncenter" width="960"] People gather at the Church on
Russia is trying to limit its casualties in Syria. Here’s why that is bad for Syrian civilians.
[caption id="attachment_71523" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a
Russia has a long history of eliminating ‘enemies of the state’
[caption id="attachment_70509" align="aligncenter" width="3827"] Members of the armed forces in
Why Trump administration officials try so hard to flatter him
[caption id="attachment_67930" align="aligncenter" width="960"] President Trump is accompanied by Vice
Why did Putin build a monument to victims of Soviet repression?
[caption id="attachment_66589" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Russian President Vladimir Putin stands with
Would Trump attack North Korea? Here’s what we learned from his ‘Rocket Man’ speech at the U.N.
Donald Trump devoted a significant portion of his United Nations
100,000 troops will engage in Russia’s Zapad-2017 war games
[caption id="attachment_63490" align="aligncenter" width="960"] A man watches Russian military jets
As Trump leaves for Europe, a question looms: Will he really commit to NATO once and for all?
[caption id="attachment_60654" align="aligncenter" width="960"] NATO flags flutter during the final
Trump seems happy to meet with authoritarians. How does this compare with other presidents?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-on-controversial-world-leaders/2017/05/03/45041e26-3022-11e7-a335-fa0ae1940305_video.html President Trump recently said he “would be honored” to
Would Jean-Jacques Rousseau actually approve of Trump? Not exactly.
[caption id="attachment_53221" align="aligncenter" width="960"] President Trump delivers his inaugural address
What Socrates, Aristotle and Leo Strauss can teach us about Donald Trump
[caption id="attachment_49586" align="aligncenter" width="715"] The Death of Socrates (by Jacques-Louis
Here’s how Trump’s election will affect U.S.-Russian relations
[caption id="attachment_49289" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Two women look at their cellphones
Two myths about nationalism and anti-Semitism in Ukraine
[caption id="attachment_44640" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Voters show their Ukrainian passports as
Here are three ways that Star Wars is a neoconservative universe
[caption id="attachment_32707" align="aligncenter" width="908"] Daisey Ridley as Rey, left, and
Putin’s war of words, decoded
[caption id="attachment_21838" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) poses
Putin's war of words, decoded
[caption id="attachment_21838" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) poses
The most popular Monkey Cage posts in 2014
2014 was Monkey Cage's first full calendar year at The
Ukraine and ISIS are not justifications of a ‘clash of civilizations’
[caption id="attachment_13351" align="aligncenter" width="908"] Debris lies at the crash site
Ukraine and ISIS are not justifications of a 'clash of civilizations'
[caption id="attachment_13351" align="aligncenter" width="908"] Debris lies at the crash site
Did Russian personnel help take down MH17?
[caption id="attachment_13351" align="alignnone" width="620"] Debris lies at the crash site
Is ranking failed or fragile states a futile business?
[caption id="attachment_12909" align="aligncenter" width="648"] The Fragile State Index 2014, Fund
How worried should U.S. policymakers be about nuclear blackmail?
[caption id="attachment_12752" align="aligncenter" width="615"] A military truck carries a Sejil
Researchers at risk in Central Asia
[caption id="attachment_12269" align="aligncenter" width="285"] Detained doctoral student Alexander Sodiqov (Exeter Central Asian
Sisi channels Salazar…whoever he was
[caption id="attachment_11296" align="aligncenter" width="567" special=""] Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends the
Don’t underestimate importance of religion for understanding Russia’s actions in Crimea
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="606" special="3TP"] Russia's President Vladimir Putin and
Don't underestimate importance of religion for understanding Russia's actions in Crimea
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="606" special="3TP"] Russia's President Vladimir Putin and
Why Crimea might be worse off under Russian rule
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="606" special=""] Volunteers of a self-defense group
How Putin needs to play nice with markets
[caption id="attachment_7562" align="aligncenter" width="620" special=""] Source: Factset[/caption] Erik Gartzke is
A graph that shows how the Ukraine got stuck between the West and Russia
The graph above shows how the positions of the United
Who are the Crimean Tatars, and why are they important?
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="606" special=""] Ukrainian men help pull one
10 explanations for Russia's coming fiscal squeeze
[caption id="attachment_6615" align="aligncenter" width="606" special=""] A general view shows the
10 explanations for Russia’s coming fiscal squeeze
[caption id="attachment_6615" align="aligncenter" width="606" special=""] A general view shows the
Pussy Riot – In Their Own Words
While Americans continue to fret about whether Paul Ryan will
How do states act after they get nuclear weapons?
All this talk about a possible US and/or Israeli preventive
Is Putinism about Strength or Weakness?
For those of you looking for a potential break from
Putin in 2012: Expert Analysis
Following up on my "previous post":http://tmc.org/blog/2011/09/25/putin-in-2012-guest-commentary-2/, here are a number
Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence Revisited
George Washington University professors "Harris Mylonas":http://elliott.gwu.edu/faculty/mylonas.cfm and "Eric Grynaviski":http://www.gwu.edu/~psc/people/fac_grynaviskie.htm send
Libya and the UN Human Rights Council
Yesterday, Libya and several other countries with dreadful human rights
From The Monkey Cage to the Op-Ed Page
Two of the commentators that we featured on The Monkey
What would Stalin have had to say about this?
Some interesting comments here.
My Summer Reading
Henry's "Holiday Reading" entry, just below, emboldens me to mention
All in the Family: How Political Leaders Secure Their Regimes
George W. Bush has two, but Saddam Hussein had six.
Campaign Rhetoric and Political Reality, Part 3
These are the last two installments of this edition of
Leonardo, Queen Elizabeth II, Stalin, Marx, and Nietzche Sitting at a Table with Lincoln, Mao, and Li Bai, Just Behind Einstein, Darwin, and Shirley Temple: Huh?
Way too small to decipher above, so test your cultural
Presidents, Good and Evil
Back in the late 1950s, 60% of the second-graders in