HI Director Discusses the Georgia-Russia Conflict with the New York Times
Monday, 18 August 2008, 7:18pm
Director Catharine Nepomnyashchy stresses parallels between the politics of modern-day Russia and those of the Soviet Union. Like Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Putin plays the victim in the conflict with Georgia. He legitimizes the belligerent invasion of his small neighbor with pretenses of peace keeping in the region, labeling the situation a “humanitarian catastrophe.” To learn more, please click on the link.
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Professor Lincoln Mitchell on the Georgia-Russia Conflict
Monday, 18 August 2008
As a scholar on the Eastern Europe country of Georgia, Lincoln Mitchell, Arnold A. Saltzman Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs was not surprised by Russia's military invasion of South Ossetia, a breakaway province within the country. He was surprised, however, by Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili's decision to send in the Georgian Army to reclaim South Ossetia, a main goal of his re-election platform earlier this year, on August 7.
Mitchell has been in heavy demand this past week for his expertise on Georgia. Tanya Domi, Columbia University Office of Public Affairs has gathered these on one page, along with a timeline of Georgian-Russian relations and a video of Saakashvili's participation in the World Leader's Forum at Columbia last year.
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Professors Lincoln Mitchell and Nina Khrushcheva discuss the Georgia-Russia Conflict on WC11 News Closeup
Sunday, 17 August 2008, 6:00am
Lincoln Mitchell, Arnold A. Saltzman Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and Nina Khrushcheva, Associate Professor of the Professional Grad Program of International Affairs at the New School, discussed the Georgia-Russia conflict with Marvin Scott on the CW11 News Closeup on Sunday August 17, 2008.
Both professors concur that Russia’s invasion of Georgia is not about South Ossetia; the real goal is to weaken Georgia and to oust President Sakashvili. Russia has long wanted to invade Georgia, a country with strong ties to the United States. President Sakashvili has given them the perfect opening to do so by attempting to re-take South Ossetia with military force. Mitchell asserts that “anyone in Georgia who didn’t see this coming is foolish.” To learn more, please click on the link.
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Professor Lincoln Mitchell on Eyewitness News
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Lincoln Mitchell, Arnold A. Saltzman Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs discussed the Georgia-Russia conflict on WABC Local NYC on August 18, 2008. While he doesn’t think that Russian tanks will be rolling into the Baltic States anytime soon, he believes the Baltic Region has reason to worry.
To learn more, please click on the link.
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Professor Jenik Radon on the Russia-Georgia Conflict
Saturday, 16 August 2008, 10:54am
Adjunct Assistant Professor, with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, Jenik Radon discusses the Georgia Crisis on WCBS in New York City this Friday August 16, 2008. Radon states that while he had presumed that the conflict between Georgia and Russia would remain a “frozen” one, this is a lesson to the international community, not to neglect “frozen conflicts.” Radon stresses the importance of an international reaction in the form of international peace keepers and mediators. Radon states that there has been much injustice, but “we have to move forward.”
To learn more, please click on the link.
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Professor Robert Legvold on Georgia-Russia Relations on VOA News
Friday, 15 August 2008, 1:56pm
Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, Robert Legvold comments that after Russia's behavior in Georgia, it will be much more difficult to engage Russia constructively in international affairs.
To learn more click on the link.
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"Confronting the aggression" OP-ED
By David L. Phillips, published in THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Thursday, 14 August 2008
David Phillips, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States and visiting scholar at Columbia
University, discusses Russia's calculated provocation of Georgia and calls for large-scale humanitarian relief to civilians victimized by the conflict.
To learn more please click on link.
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"A Message from Moscow: Russian Power and the Conflict with Georgia," by Professor Lincoln Mitchell published in INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 6:00pm
Lincoln Mitchell, Arnold A. Saltzman Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs urges the world to pay more attention to Georgia and South Ossetia. He warns that it is a big mistake to view this as a conflict over South Ossetia; the conflict is actually about Georgia. Russia is using the war to flex its muscle in the neighboring region, announcing Russia’s revival as a major actor on the world stage. “This conflict is one more demonstration that the post-Cold War era, where US was the world’s hyperpower, has ended.” To learn more please click on the link.
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"Mad at the U.S., but Still Tied to It" Lincoln Mitchell on Georgia in the New York Times
Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 5:59pm
Lincoln Mitchell, Arnold A. Saltzman Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs discusses Georgia's changing relationship towards the U.S. in light of the Russian invasion of Georgia.
To learn more please click on the link.
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Institute's Faculty Share Their Expertise on Russia/Georgia with Major News and Media Organizations
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
The Institute's faculty have been in high demand to help media make sense of the Russia/Georgia Conflict.
Stephen Sestanovich, Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor in the Practice of International Diplomacy, appeared on Charlie Rose on August 11 to discuss the conflict between Russia and Georgia. (Follow the "Link to Website" below.)
Robert Legvold, former Director of the Harriman Institute, in an article published in the Los Angeles Times (August 12th) "quoted Russians close to Putin as saying that the Russian prime minister views Saakashvili the same way the U.S. government views Fidel Castro." According to Legvold, "Putin has an extraordinarily adverse view of Saakashvili himself."
Finally, Lincoln Mitchell has made a number of appearances in print, on radio and on television. In addition to previous posts we should mention that Mitchell appeared on a Lou Dobbs roundtable on CNN, and contributed an analytical piece to the New York Daily News.
Robert Legvold in LA Times
Lincoln Mitchell, Lou Dobbs Tonight
Lincoln Mitchell, NY Daily News
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Experts on Russia and Georgia Available
for Interviews on Current Conflict
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Harriman Institute faculty experts on Russia and Georgia are available for news media interviews on the history, context and implications of the ongoing conflict between the two nations.
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"In Search of a Free Georgia and South Ossetia" by Professor Lincoln Mitchell, published in MOSCOW TIMES
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
"Last week, tension between Russia and Georgia, which had been growing since the Rose Revolution brought Georgia's reformist, pro-U.S. President Mikheil Saakashvili to power in 2004, finally led to open hostility between the two countries. On Thursday, the Georgian government sent troops into the disputed territory of South Ossetia to pacify that region and restore it to Georgian control. Russia waited a day before sending its tanks into South Ossetia and demonstrating its dominance of the air by bombing various places in Georgia, including two Georgian bases near Tbilisi. If the hostilities continue and the conflicts continue for more than a few days, Georgia's future and sovereignty may well be jeopardized. This is precisely what Russia has wanted since Saakashvili committed to building a strong, independent and Western oriented Georgia in 2004."
To see the full article, follow the link.
Professor Mitchell, Arnold A. Saltzman Professor of International Politics, has also given interviews to NPR and PBS NewsHour, which can be accessed at the following addresses.
NPR Interview
PBS NewsHour
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Michael Scammell Remembers His Meetings with Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
In an opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times, Professor Michael Scammell, author of a prize-winning biography of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, recalls his meetings and interviews with the exiled writer.
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Professors Padma Desai and Nina Khrushcheva discuss the Georgia-Russia conflict on the Riz Khan Show on Al-Jazeera
Monday, 11 August 2008, 7:00pm
Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems, Padma Desai, and Associate Professor of the Professional Grad Program of International Affairs at the New School, Nina Khrushcheva, concur that the blame for the South Ossetian conflict falls on all involved parties, including the United States. Desai dubs George W. Bush’s encouragement of eastward NATO expansion as a “foreign policy blunder,” and Khrushcheva adds that this “blunder” does not excuse Russia’s ruthless behavior in the region. Both professors also point the finger at Georgia’s President Sakashvili for his miscalculated attack on South Ossetia. To learn more, please click on the link.
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"Russia Returns"
Monday, 11 August 2008
In an article in The National Interest, HI Assistant Director Gordon N. Bardos analyzes the implications of Russia’s return to the Balkans, and discusses the need for greater US-Russian cooperation in southeastern Europe.
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Professor Lincoln Mitchell re: Georgia-Russia Conflict
Monday, 11 August 2008
Lincoln Mitchell, Arnold A. Saltzman Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs discusses the Georgia-Russia conflict on VOA News, stating that the Russian reaction to the Georgian attack of South Ossetia was completely predictable. While acknowledging that Georgia was put in a tough situation, Mitchell does not understand Tbilisi’s actions, and why President Sakashvili did not foresee the outcome. Mitchell thinks that the US should not automatically take a pro-Georgian stance but that we also should not allow Russia to intimidate its neighbors.
Professor Mitchell was also quoted on Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, gave interviews on Wisconsin Public Radio and MarketWatch, and participated in a discussion on the Diane Rhem Show.
VOA News
Radio Free Liberty Radio Free Europe Interview
Wisconsin Public Radio
MarketWatch Interview
Diane Rhem Show
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Columbia Graduate Rory Finin appointed temporary lecturer in Ukrainian studies at the University of Cambridge
Sunday, 10 August 2008
"Rory Finnin of Columbia University has been appointed temporary lecturer in Ukrainian studies at the University of Cambridge. A five-year, fixed-term post supported entirely by external funding, the lectureship will initiate and develop a pilot scheme for a Ukrainian studies program at Cambridge – one of the first programs of its kind in Europe." To read more please click on the link and scroll to p.5.
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RUSSIAN MOVE TO STATE TRADING IN GRAIN WILL SEND NEGATIVE SIGNAL
Wednesday, 06 August 2008
In her Letter to the Editor, published in the FINANCIAL TIMES, Professor Padma Desai (Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems) writes that Russia's new grain policy: "marks a retrograde step by the Russian authorities in managing their grain economy from three perspectives."
To see the complete letter, follow the link.
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