China & Russia
Stifling progress in Russia and China
24 December 2012
The New York Times
Russia and China seem very different sorts of countries. One is a pseudo-democracy with an economy dependent on natural-resource exports; the other is a one-party state and the world’s manufacturing superpower. But both suffer from unbalanced economies — and powerful vested interests that are trying to block the reforms that...
Let Russia show the way on Syria
11 June 2012
The New York Times
Like him or loathe him over his stance on Syria, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, is a better diplomat than most. Experience counts, and Lavrov has spent almost three decades at the United Nations. As a former senior Soviet diplomat and Russia’s permanent representative to the Security Council in the...
Multilateralism à la Carte
16 April 2012
The International Herald Tribune
Many problems cannot be solved without international co-operation, yet "multilateralism" — the system of international institutions and rules intended to promote the common good — appears to be weakening.
Will Putin delete the reset?
04 April 2012
The International Herald Tribune
In February 2009, Vice President Joe Biden called for the reset button to be pressed in the U.S.-Russia relationship, and for the next three years Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitri Medvedev fostered a rapprochement between Washington and Moscow.
The implications of multipolarity for Central Europe’s security
02 April 2012
Center for European Policy Analysis
For years, Central Europeans have fretted that the United States might withdraw from the European security arena in order to focus on more pressing issues in other parts of the world. Over the last 12 months, these concerns have been exacerbated.
Le veto russe sur la Syrie n’est pas injustifié
28 February 2012
Le Temps
Sans doute Moscou fait-il de la realpolitik en s’opposant à un projet de résolution du Conseil de sécurité exigeant le départ de Bachar el-Assad. Toutefois, la diplomatie russe a raison de penser qu’un tel texte serait intenable. Avec le régime syrien, les Etats occidentaux ont tout fait de travers, estime...