Ambassador Heyward Isham, Acting Chief of the U.S. Delegation to the Paris Peace Talks, Dies at Age 82
Friday, 26 June 2009
Heyward Isham, graduate of the Russian Institute and longtime member of the Harriman Institute's National Advisory Council, died in Southampton, New York, on June 18th. In addition to his role in negotiating the Paris Peace Accord, Heyward, a career Foreign Service officer, served as U.S. Ambassador to Haiti in the 1970s and held appointments in Berlin and Moscow.
Link to full article
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Padma Desai Authors Introduction for "A CRATE OF VODKA"
Wednesday, 03 June 2009
Padma Desai, Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems, Authors Introduction for "A CRATE OF VODKA" by Alfred Kokh and Igor Svinarenko, just released by Enigma Books.
A CRATE OF VODKA:
In a series of conversations the authors revisit the last twenty years of Russia’s history since the end of communism. From the death of Leonid Brezhnev in 1982 to 9/11/2001 Russia lived through monumental changes: economic transformation, where Alfred Kokh was in charge of privatization and Igor Svinarenko covered the scandal as a journalist; Kokh went to Chechnya as a diplomat to negotiate peace while Svinarenko was covering the war and placing his life at risk; Kokh was hired to take over the NTV television station owned by Gasprom while Svinarenko obtained the Soros Foundation award as “Reporter of the Year.” These are some of the issues covered in this lively overview of Russia’s recent history that reads at times like My Dinner with André.
Link to full article
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Spring 2009 Harriman Newsletter
Monday, 18 May 2009
CONTENTS
From the Director 1
Timothy Frye, “Everybody Hates Privatization, But Why?” 6
Jewish Theological and Teachers College Faculty Join Harriman Institute 10
Meet Two MA Students 12
Two Recent Alumni 13
Celebrating the Ballets Russes 14
Challenges of Education Reform: Central Asia in a Global Context 16
From the Bakhmeteff Archive 16
Faculty News 17
Zanussi at Barnard/Columbia 19
Workshop on Lysenkoism 19
New Chair in Polish Studies 20
Congratulations 2009 Grads! 20
Link to full article
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Lincoln Mitchell Interviewed by Martin Savidge on Worldfocus about Georgian Military Mutiny Attempt
Tuesday, 05 May 2009
A 500-man Georgian tank battalion led a short mutiny on Tuesday, ignoring higher command and sealing off a military base. The battalion leader has been arrested.
The Georgian government initially blamed the mutiny on Russia, saying they are trying to disrupt NATO exercises in Georgia set to begin on Wednesday.
Harriman Institute Professor Lincoln Mitchell, Arnold Saltzman Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the significance of the events to Georgian and international politics and how they may relate to NATO exercises.
Link to full article
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Endowed Chair in Polish Studies Established at Columbia
Monday, 27 April 2009
Columbia University recently completed a $3 million fundraising effort to establish its first endowed chair in its Polish studies program at the university’s East Central European Center.
“The new chair in Polish studies reflects not only Poland’s historical contributions to art, literature and the sciences as the birthplace of such notable figures as Czeslaw Milosz, Frederick Chopin, Marie Curie and Pope John Paul II, but also recognizes its current prominent position as a member of the European Union,” said Nicholas Dirks, Columbia’s vice president and dean of the faculty of arts and sciences. “Students will benefit from the wide array of studies we offer that pay tribute to the remarkable achievements that Poland has realized culturally, economically and politically.”
Following an international search to fill the professorship, a scholar specializing in one of the social sciences as it pertains to Poland and its neighbors will join Columbia’s faculty.
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Gia Kourlas Previews Barnard/Harriman Diaghilev Festival in TIME OUT NEW YORK
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
"By her own account, Lynn Garafola, a writer, historian and professor of dance at Barnard College, usually spends her free time organizing conferences and film screenings. But the lack of prominent local festivities surrounding the centenary of the first Paris performances of Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes prompted her to take action. In "Celebrating Diaghilev in Music and Dance," a program conceived by Garafola, with Catharine Theimer Nepomnyashchy, professor of Russian at Barnard and director of the Harriman Institute, students from Barnard and Columbia perform two legendary works at Miller Theatre on Saturday 25: Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun and Stravinsky's Les Noces."
To read the entire article, follow the link.
Link to full article
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Lincoln Mitchell on Georgia, After the War in The American Interest
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
The outcome of the Russian-Georgian war of August 2008 demonstrated the need to rethink American strategy in the region. In an article in the forthcoming issue of The American Interest, Professor Lincoln Mitchell argues that "Since it is most unlikely that the United States will return to a position of comparative dominance in Eurasia anytime soon, we must either curtail our goals, which could be dangerous and counterproductive, or devise other ways to achieve them."
Link to full article
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Prof. Lincoln Mitchell Interviewed by RIA Novosti on the Political Stalemate in Georgia
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
In a recent interview with the Russian news service, RIA Novosti, CU Professor Lincoln Mitchell commented on the challenges facing the current government in Georgia. According to Mitchell, "internally [the Saakashvili administration] doesn't have credibility as a reformer on political issues. On economic issues, on corruption, they have great credibility. On the political issues - they don't."
Link to full article
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Century Foundation Releases Report of Working Group on U.S. Policy Toward Russia
Wednesday, 01 April 2009
The Century Foundation Working Group on U.S. Policy Toward Russia, which is co-chaired by SIPA Adjunct Professor Jack F. Matlock, and features Professors Padma Desai and Jack Snyder, has released a series of policy recommendations. The full text of the report is available on the site linked below.
Link to full article
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Prof. Padma Desai in Letter to FT: Financial Crisis Offers Russia Opportunity to Sever Links to Big Business
Friday, 27 March 2009
In a letter to the editor published in the Financial Times, CU Professor Padma Desai argues that "Every crisis has a silver lining. In the Russian case, the crisis will clean up the banking system; it will lead to the mergers of inefficient units, especially in the retail and construction sectors; and it will sever the incestuous link between the Russian oligarchs and the Kremlin. The crisis has clipped the financial clout of the oligarchs... [T]he Russian leadership may well use the crisis to finally move in a non-regulatory, liberal direction by severing the link between the Russian state and Russian big business in general."
Link to full article
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CU Professor Lincoln Mitchell Quoted in Washington Post Profile of Georgian Politics
Monday, 09 March 2009
Speaking on the recent history of US-Georgian relations, Professor Mitchell argues that "The relationship [between the United States and Georgia] got personalized... The idea was don't make problems for the English-speaking leader who is our best ally in the region."
Link to full article
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The Harriman Institute presents "New Balkan Film" — A Festival and Multidisciplinary Conference Examining New Directions in Balkan Cinema.
Thursday, 05 March 2009
The Harriman Institute
Together with
The Program in Hellenic Studies
The School of the Arts Film Division
and the Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures
and with the gracious support of
The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival
The Consulate General of the Hellenic Republic
The Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia
and the Romanian Cultural Institute
present
NEW BALKAN FILM
March 5 - 7, 2009
Columbia University in the City of New York
The fall of the Iron Curtain and the secessionist wars in the ex-Yugoslavia provoked considerable international interest in the Balkans throughout the last decade of the twentieth-century. These same events also engaged the creative powers of a set of film directors—Angelopoulos, Kusturica, Manchevski—, whose films garnered wide acclaim at festivals and sparked controversy in discussions of film. This multidisciplinary conference considers contemporary Balkan film made after this tumultuous decade. For while events in the region may have calmed, directors from the region continue to leave their mark. The conference features six films released within the last five years, to be screened in the presence of, and in conversation with, their directors. It also brings together scholars from Columbia University with an international group of critics drawn from the disciplines of film studies, literary, cultural and gender studies, sociology, and art history. Together, they will discuss new trends, transformations, and concerns of a new generation of Balkan filmmakers.
Click Here for Conference Program.
Registration for Thursday evening's screenings is required. Please register by following the link below. For all other events, no registration is necessary.
Click Here to Register
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HI Announces Two New Postdoctoral Fellowships
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
The Harriman Institute at Columbia University announces two post-doctoral fellowships for a new project investigating Modes of Communication in Contemporary Russia: press, entertainment media, the internet (blogs, chatrooms, forums, social networking pages, etc.).
The project addresses questions of the mode of communication (mode and genre, networks of audience and participation) and the interaction of the mode of communication with the power (subordination to or autonomy from centralization of power).
The fellowships are open to applicants from all disciplines. Natural candidates for these fellowships are Ph.D.s with training in sociology, cultural studies, political science, anthropology or linguistics. The project will focus on Russia but specialists in other countries of the Soviet sphere will be considered.
The term of the fellowships is one year from September 2009 through May 2010. Ph.D. required. Eligibility is restricted to those applicants who have received the Ph.D. within the three years prior to the fellowship period for which they are applying. Candidates cannot hold a faculty position and must have successfully defended and deposited their dissertations prior to the commencement of the fellowship.
For more information on the project, pleased contact the Project Director, Alan Timberlake at at2205@columbia.edu.
HOW TO APPLY
Candidates should send the following materials to the Fellowship Committee, c/o Barbara Singleton, at the address below, by March 1st (fellowships begin the following September):
1. A research plan outlining how the scholar's time will be spent at the Institute
2. A curriculum vitae
3. A substantial portion of the applicant's dissertation (one or two chapters, or an abstract of the dissertation)
In addition, the applicant should have three letters of recommendation sent to the Fellowship Committee of the Harriman Institute.
Barbara Singleton, Harriman Institute, Columbia University, 420 West 118th Street, New York, New York 10027
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CU Professor Alex Cooley Discusses the Manas Airbase Controversy in an IHT Op-ed
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
In "The Price of Access: How the US Lost its Kyrgyzstan Airbase," Professor Alex Cooley argues that "the price of access for Manas has reached a level that is unacceptable, even for the world's only remaining superpower. But the Kyrgyz did not invent the rules of this bargaining game, they merely followed them to their logical conclusion."
Link to full article
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Alexander Cooley Discusses the Planned Closure of the U.S. Airbase in Kyrgyzstan on NPR
Wednesday, 04 February 2009
In an interview with National Public Radio, Alexander Cooley says one factor in Kyrgyzstan's action most likely has to do with President Obama's decision to make Afghanistan a priority.
"The Kyrgyz see the importance of Afghanistan as only elevating the importance of their asset, which is in essence hosting the U.S. base," says Cooley, who wrote Base Politics, which examines U.S. bases overseas, including the one at Manas.
Link to full article
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Gene Sosin, Russian Institute Alum ('49), Recalls his Experiences at Columbia in Columbia Magazine.
Sunday, 01 February 2009
In the latest issue of Columbia University's alumni magazine, Gene Sosin, Russian Institute alumnus ('49) recalls his experiences at the university and the Institute, the forerunner of today's Harriman Institute.
Link to full article
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Gordon Bardos on "Balkanizing Barack," in the National Interest Online.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
In the National Interest Online, HI Assistant Director Gordon N. Bardos argues for a new US approach to southeastern Europe.
“As if a collapsing economy and the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Gaza were not problematic enough, there is increasing recognition that President Obama will need to devote more U.S. attention to southeastern Europe. Yet in many ways, his greatest challenge there will not entail dealing with recalcitrant nationalists. Rather, it will involve rejecting official Washington’s essentially neoconservative understanding of the Balkans.”
Link to full article
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Interview with Professor Boris Gasparov Appears in Nezavisimaya Gazeta's "Ex Libris"
Monday, 05 January 2009
In his interview with Aleksei Nilogov, published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta's "Ex Libris" (Dec. 12, 2008), Boris Gasparov, Bakhmeteff Professor of Russian and East European Studies, answers questions on his conception of linguistic studies, the philosophical resources of the Russian language, and the "personality cult" in the humanities.
Link to full article
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Professors Alexander Cooley and Lincoln Mitchell in the Washington Quarterly on US-Georgia Relations
Wednesday, 03 December 2008
"...as analysts focus on the Russian-Georgian relationship, the questions of how the United States–Georgia’s friend and patron–failed to anticipate the conflict and prevent its escalation need to be addressed. Two unequivocal, but ultimately flawed, principles guided recent U.S. policy towards Georgia. First, the United States supported the Saakashvili government, rather than promoting broader Georgian democratic development. Second, the United States backed reuniting Georgia’s territorial integrity, rather than acting as an honest broker to resolve the frozen conflicts with South Ossetia and Abkhazia."
Link to full article
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Prof. Stephen Sestanovich Offers a New Vision for US-Russian Relations in November/December Foreign Affairs
Monday, 01 December 2008
"Determining the right balance between cooperating and pushing back -- between selective engagement and selective containment -- has become the main task of U.S. policy toward Russia," argues Professor Sestanovich. "This effort will surely last well into the next U.S. administration, providing a key challenge for the new president and his advisers as they refashion the United States' role in the world."
Link to full article
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Prof. Lincoln Mitchell Discusses Georgia's Disappointing Direction on RFE/RL
Saturday, 22 November 2008
"The events of last November cast doubt on the ideals of the Rose Revolution," [says Mitchell]. "If we add to that the August events, which brought the loss of the territories for Georgia -- this is something that, according to many observers, outweighs the other possible positive results of the performance of this government. Whether Georgia will remember the Rose Revolution five years from now.... I think it will be remembered only in the history books."
Link to full article
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Alexander Cooley on a Trusteeship for Abkhazia (Editorial, The Wall Street Journal)
Monday, 17 November 2008
In a recent Wall Stree Journal editorial, CU Professor Alexander Cooley and Borut Grgic argue that "...there is an intermediary sovereign formula that could bridge the two absolutist positions. While neither restoring Georgia's territorial integrity nor recognizing Abkhazia's independence is acceptable to all sides at the moment, Abkhazia could be placed under an international system of trusteeship or supervised administration."
Link to full article
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Lincoln Mitchell in RFE/RL on the Impact of an Obama Victory for Georgian NATO Membership
Friday, 07 November 2008
"Georgia had to meet NATO at least halfway," said Lincoln Mitchell, a professor of international politics at New York's Columbia University. "And what it got under the Bush administration was the constant message: 'Have bad elections? We'll cover for you. Make a foolish decision and get pulled into a war with Russia? Here's a billion bucks, don't worry about it. Keep cracking down on media and civil liberties? It's OK."
Click here to read more...
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Kimberly Marten Comments on Russia's Bellicosity on Bloomberg.com
Thursday, 06 November 2008
"There's no question that [Russian president Dimitry Medvedev's plan to station missiles in Kaliningrad] is designed as a test for the Obama administration..."
Click here for full text.
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Timothy Frye Interviewed by Martin Savidge on Worldfocus (PBS) about Russia's Plans to Deploy Missiles Near Poland
Wednesday, 05 November 2008
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia might deploy short-range missiles near Poland in response to a proposed US missile defense shield in Eastern Europe.
Professor Timothy Frye speaks with Martin Savidge about the severity of the plan, the effect of the Russia-Georgia conflict and ways in which dropping oil prices will affect Russia's assertive stance.
The interview will be aired on the PBS show Worldfocus (November 5). The show airs on Channel 13 at 6:00 pm and on Channel 21 at 7 and 11 pm.
If you miss it, the full broadcast will also be posted the Worldfocus website for two weeks.
Link to full article
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Lincoln Mitchell on the Prospects for Russian Power on PostGlobal
Friday, 31 October 2008
"Russia is not, at this time, a democracy, nor is it likely to become one anytime soon. The restriction on individual, associational and media freedoms, the close relationships between business and the government and the weakness of the rule of law are just some of the things that preclude Russia from being called a democracy. Moreover, it is inaccurate to continue to view Russia as a country in transition. The regime seems quite stable; with little real movement towards democracy. Russia is a largely consolidated illiberal semi-authoritarian regime."
Click here for full text.
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Rafis Abazov Discusses the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Central Asian Communities on CACI Analyst
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
"This fall the economic slowdown in Kazakhstan and Russia, especially accelerated by the global credit crunch during recent weeks, hit hard the Central Asian seasonal migrants and their families... If the economic, social and legal needs of these migrants are not effectively addressed soon, both the sending and receiving countries would face serious social and economic consequences."
Click here to read the full article.
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Serbian President Boris Tadic to Lead Multi-Year Fundraising Effort for the Njegos Endowment
Monday, 27 October 2008
Serbian President Boris Tadic has agreed to lead a multi-year fundraising effort in support of the Njegos Endowment for Serbian Language and Culture at Columbia University. In announcing his decision to support this effort, President Tadic cited “the long and deep ties” between Columbia University and the people of Serbia.
Link to full article
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"How the West Failed Georgia" by Prof. Alexander Cooley, Published in CURRENT HISTORY (Oct. 2008)
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
"The transatlantic community created a political environment that bred desperation in the Georgian regime and virtually assured the August escalation. [...] Having indirectly contributed to the Georgian crisis, the West must now initiate a constructive international process that might bring about a lasting solution."
Read the complete text of Alexander Cooley's article on the Georgian crisis by following the link.
Alexander Cooley is Associate Professor of Political Science, Barnard College, and a member of the Study Group on US-Russia and Georgia Relations at the Harriman Institute. His most recent book, "Base Politics: Democratic Change and the US Military Overseas," was published earlier this year by Cornell University Press.
Link to full article
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Voices of the Russian-Jewish Diaspora: An Autobiography Contest for the 21st Century
Monday, 06 October 2008
This past year marked the 40th anniversary of the Let My People Go campaign, a political movement started by a handful of dissidents and Zionists in the Soviet Union that sought free Jewish emigration. This group attracted supporters in Israel, the United States and Western Europe. Through the tireless work of human rights workers throughout the world, refuseniks and prisoners of Zion forced the Soviet government to allow increasing numbers of Jews to emigrate. But what made emigration a true mass movement was ordinary Jewish families—and many non-Jews—in Riga, Kiev, Moscow, Odessa, Novosibirsk and other cities and towns across the Soviet Union. They made the often risky decision to leave their native country and to face an uncertain future abroad. They applied for an exit visa despite the danger of being left for years in limbo, without a job or a means of subsistence, if they were refused permission to emigrate.
Following examples set by early-twentieth century scholars such as Max Weinreich of the Yiddish Institute for Jewish Research and Boris Bakhmeteff of Columbia University, Rebecca Kobrin, a member of Columbia University’s History Department and Harriman Institute, seeks to collect autobiographical accounts of Russian-Jewish émigrés, before their crucial personal recollections that provide “full and free picture” of this era are lost. These autobiographies will serve as a time-capsule for today’s and tomorrow’s scholars concerned with Jewish life in the former Soviet Union as well as immigrant Jewish life in the age of mass migration and globalization.
We encourage everyone to write up their stories with honesty and accuracy. Not only will each submission be eligible for a monetary prize but those judged to be of the greatest historical and literary value will be published in a volume for world-wide distribution.
Follow link for more information and contest guidelines.
Link to full article
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Marc Raeff, Professor Emeritus of Russian History, Dies at 85
Thursday, 02 October 2008
Mark Raeff, Bakhmeteff Professor Emeritus of Russian Studies, died on September 20, in Teaneck, New Jersey. Raeff, the author of such fundamental studies as "Origins of the Russian Intelligentsia" (1966), "Understanding Imperial Russia" (1985) and "Russia Abroad: A Cultural History of the Russian Emigration" (1990) taught Russian history at Columbia from 1961 to 1988.
A memorial service will be held at Columbia in the spring--no date has been set.
Link to full article
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Professor Alexander Cooley Awarded an Open Society Fellowship
Saturday, 27 September 2008
Professor Alexander Cooley (Political Science, Barnard) has been named one of the inaugural Open Society Fellows (2009-10) for their new initiative "Understanding Authoritarianism." Cooley is researching the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and its activities in Central Asia. In particular, he is examining the SCO’s impact on regional integration and whether the SCO is sidelining Western actors by providing an alternative source of legitimacy to member states.
Link to full article
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Mark Mazower's HITLER'S EMPIRE: HOW THE NAZIS RULED EUROPE is reviewed in New York Times Sunday Book Review
Thursday, 25 September 2008
"HITLER'S EMPIRE is a useful antidote to the argument... that World War II was neither necessary nor just. While we should never underestimate or forget the appalling cost, Mazower's eloquent and instructive book reminds us what the world would have been like if Hitler's enemies had been unwilling or unable to pay the price of defeating him."
--James J. Sheehan, writing in the New York Times Sunday Book Review (Sept. 21, 2008).
Mark Mazower is Ira D. Wallach Professor of World Order Studies, Department of History.
Link to full article
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Lincoln Mitchell Reassesses Georgia on Times Topics
Thursday, 25 September 2008
In a new piece on the New York Times website, CU Professor Lincoln Mitchell argues for a sober assessment of Georgia, "without the rose-colored glasses."
Link to full article
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CU Professor Lincoln Mitchell talks to Newsweek about Georgian Democracy
Saturday, 20 September 2008
"Lincoln Mitchell, a Georgia expert and Columbia University professor, says Georgian democracy suffers from having no real line between state and party, and while it has made great economic strides under President Mikheil Saakashvili, he has never created a meaningful judiciary, has weakened the legislature and has centralized executive power."
Link to full article
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CU Professor Padma Desai on Fortunes of the Russian Stock Market
Thursday, 18 September 2008
In a Forbes.com opinion piece, Padma Desai discusses recent pressures on the Russian markets.
"The news from Russia has been grim. While Russian tanks have more or less left Georgian territory, the Russian stock market has slumped massively, reflecting investor panic..."
Click on link below to read the complete article.
Link to full article
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Professor Lincoln Mitchell on Burjanadze
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
In connection with Nino Burjanadze’s appearance at Columbia, the Georgian online daily “Sakartvelos respublika” interviews Professor Lincoln Mitchell about Burjanadze’s political aspirations and the current Georgia-Russia conflict.
Link to full article
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CU Professor Stephen Sestanovich speaks to the Washington Post on the changes in US plans for nuclear cooperation with Russia
Monday, 08 September 2008
“The White House plans to formally pull from congressional consideration an agreement with Russia for civilian nuclear cooperation, perhaps as soon as today, Bush administration sources said over the weekend. … Stephen Sestanovich, a Columbia University professor who handled Russian affairs in the Clinton administration, yesterday said the agreement is ‘dead in this Congress, but a new administration will have a look.’”
Link to full article
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CU Professor Lincoln Mitchell comments on Georgian politics and Nino Burjanadze in the Wall Street Journal
Monday, 08 September 2008
“Nino Burjanadze, the former speaker of Georgia's parliament who served as acting president of the country during two interim periods, said she couldn't rule out the possibility of creating a new political party in Georgia but stopped short of openly breaking with President Mikheil Saakashvili. … Lincoln Mitchell, a professor at Columbia who specializes in Georgian politics, said the establishment of a new party in the country would be a positive step toward furthering democracy there. ‘Georgia is effectively a one-and-a-half party system,’ he said, noting the government is dominated by the United National Movement.”
Link to full article
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Nino Burjanadze discusses the Georgia-Russia crisis following a talk at CU, sponsored by the Harriman Institute
Friday, 05 September 2008
“A prominent Georgian opposition figure said on Friday she warned President Mikheil Saakashvili against military action in South Ossetia a few days before he sent troops there, sparking a Russian invasion. … In an interview after speaking at Columbia University in New York, Burjanadze said the immediate priority was for Russia to withdraw its troops and for Georgians to be united, but at some point the government would face ‘difficult questions.’ ‘A few days before the crisis ... I met the president,’ Burjanadze said.”
Link to full article
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SOLZHENITSYN THE STYLIST
Tuesday, 02 September 2008
In his essay for the New York Times Sunday Book Review, Michael Scammell, Professor in the Writing Division of the School of the Arts and Solzhenitsyn's biographer, looks back at Solzhenitsyn's career as a writer, as opposed to Solzhenitsyn the dissident and voice of conscience.
Link to full article
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"A firm west can prevent a new cold war"
OP-ED in the Financial Times by CU Visiting Scholar David Phillips
Sunday, 31 August 2008, 7:33pm
David Phillips urges the west to take a tough stance with Russia over its ruthless behavior in Georgia and its refusal to cooperate with the international community. Phillips says that the west needs to be strong, consistent and coherent in its response to Russia, and that it must not abandon Georgia. To learn more please click on the link below.
Link to full article
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Barnard Professor Alexander Cooley on Georgia-Russia
Sunday, 31 August 2008, 4:45pm
Professor Cooley participated in the Bled Strategic Forum on a panel titled: "EU-Caspian Energy Corridor after the Recent Events in Georgia."
To learn more please click on the link below.
Link to full article
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Barnard Professor Kimberly Marten on the Russia-Georgia Conflict
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Barnard Professor Kim Marten was quoted by the Associated Press and interviewed by a Barnard Graduate for an Estonian Newspaper about the Georgia-Russia conflict. She was also interviewed on KCBS News Radio in San Francisco on August 20th, but the interview is not available online. To learn more please click on the links below.
Associated Press
Estonian daily Eesti Päevaleht (article in Estonian)
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“Revenge of the Balkans”
HI Assistant Director Gordon N. Bardos discusses the Balkan background to the Caucasus crisis in "The National Interest."
Thursday, 28 August 2008
“Strategic shortsightedness—defined as mistaking problems and issues of secondary or tertiary importance for those of vital importance, and being unable to foresee the predictable consequences of specific actions—is becoming a chronic malaise in Washington. So characteristic of U.S. policy in the Balkans in the 1990s and the more recent Iraq tragedy, it is now again apparent in U.S. actions with regard to Kosovo, and their spillover effects in the Caucasus. American policy makers had repeatedly told us that Kosovo was supposed to be a “unique” case, but apparently Vladimir Putin didn’t get the memo. The ghosts of our Balkan problems, it seems, continue to haunt us.” To learn more please click on the link below.
Link to full article
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Harriman Institute Newsletter (Fall 2008)
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
The Fall Newsletter is at the printer, but you can read the advance copy on our website. Karen Barkey shares some thoughts about her new book, "Empire of Difference"; Director Catharine Nepomnyashchy highlights upcoming events and gives an update on the Harriman delegation's visit to Turkmenistan; Lincoln Mitchell reports on the Harriman Institute's Study Group to Georgia; Faculty News; etc., etc. Plus Professor Alexander Cooley plants a tree for Navruz.
Link to full article
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CU Professor Lincoln Mitchell on Georgia-Russia Conflict
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Lincoln Mitchell quoted in The New York Times and The Washington Post regarding the Georgia-Russia conflict. To learn more please click on the links below.
The Washington Post
The New York Times
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HI Director Catharine Nepomnyashchy Profiled with On Campus: News from Across the University
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Director Nepomnyashchy featured in "Public Intellectuals: Columbia Faculty Bring Insight to the News." To learn more, please click on the link.
Link to full article
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Professor Jenik Radon on Chicago Public Radio re: Russia-Georgia
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Professor Jenik Radon does not think that the conflict between Georgia and Russia will lead to a new Cold War but he stresses the importance of incorporating Russia into the international community in order to avoid further tensions: "We need to eliminate the 'us' vs. 'them' mentality."
To learn more please click on the link.
Link to full article
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"For Often Unsung Scholars, a War Means Center Stage" HI Director Featured in the NYT
Sunday, 24 August 2008
Harriman Institute Director, Catharine Nepomnyashchy, speaks with the New York Times about the upsurge of media attention to the Harriman Institute since Russia's invasion of Georgia. Despite this spike, Dr. Nepomnyashchy is surprised by the general lack of global concern about the conflict. "This is a world event of the first order" She states, "And I don’t say that because I’m trying to push Russian studies. I say that because I’m scared.”
To learn more please click on the link.
Link to full article
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"Moscow’s Hard Line Backfires in Poland"
Director of the East Central European Center in the NYT
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Director of the East Central European Center and Executive Director of the European Isntitute at Columbia University, John Micgiel, discusses the shift in Poland's attitude towards the placement of US missile interceptors in Poland since Moscow's invasion of Georgia.
To read the article please click on the link.
New York Times John Micgiel
Lincoln Mitchell was quoted in an article on Bloomberg.com.
Bloomberg.com Lincoln Mitchell
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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.
Link to full article
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Professor Lincoln Mitchell on the Georgia-Russia Conflict
Monday, 18 August 2008
As a scholar on 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.
Link to full article
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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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