Browsing by Subject "Caucasus"
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Item A bear in the mountains : Russian policy in the Caucasus(2012-12) Archbold, Kenneth Ora; Garza, Thomas J.; Moser, Robert GThe Caucasus region is an integral part of Russian history, politics, and culture, both in the arenas of internal and external policy. Throughout the centuries, Russia has spent much blood and treasure to maintain its influence in this vital region. The purpose of this thesis is to highlight the Russian government’s efforts to maintain political, economic, and cultural influence in the Caucasus and how those efforts led Russia into two Chechen wars and a brief but consequential armed conflict with Georgia. This thesis paper will briefly examine the history of Russian conquest in the Caucasus and how the region became so important to Russia, politically, culturally, and economically. The paper will also explore the effects that the fall of the Soviet Union had on relations between the Russian central government and the North Caucasus republics and how the conditions that the break up created led to the first Chechen War. The work will also examine the causes of the second Chechen War and the role of radical Islam in the conflict between the Russian federal government and rebels in the North Caucasus. This paper will also analyze the possible threats to Russian hegemony in the Caucasus, including radical Islam, terrorism, and a Georgian government that seems determined to exit Russia’s sphere of influence. The work will also analyze the 2008 Russo-Georgian War and how it impacted not just Russo-Georgian relations, but also how it helped define Russia’s relationship with the West and its role in world politics. Finally, the thesis will study Russia’s future prospects in the region, whether Russian hegemony will remain in the South Caucasus and what should be done to ensure peace and stability in the North Caucasus.Item The cornered bear : the August 2008 war in Georgia as the culmination of Russia’s western security dilemma(2012-12) Ellett, Matthew Hayden; Barany, Zoltan D.; Jordan, Bella BIn 2008 Russia surprised the West by going to war with Georgia. While several analyses have pointed to separate actions by NATO and the West as having influenced the 2008 war, this paper endeavors to show that the combined actions of the West and NATO since the fall of the Soviet Union created a security dilemma for Russia. Because the West refused to properly acknowledge and address Russia’s dilemma, the West inadvertently created the conditions which led to the culmination of Russia’s security dilemma in the form of an invasion of Georgia. Russia’s war with Georgia was less an attempt to protect Russian citizens and prevent atrocities as it was a rebuttal of Western actions. This thesis examines the security dilemma and cooperation theories as presented by Dr. Robert Jervis, and looks specifically at Western-Russian relations relating to three spheres: NATO expansion and Western marginalization of Russia, Western unilateral and extra-U.N. military aggression, and Western anti-ballistic missile defense initiatives and programs. Western actions relating to these three spheres created the conditions for the war, and specifics within the Caucasus region and relating to separatist conflicts drove Russia to deem a war with Georgia a politically safe rebuttal to the West. This paper also examines continued Western refusal to acknowledge Russia’s dilemma and developing conditions, as they relate to the three spheres of NATO expansion, unilateral military action and missile defenses, which could potentially lead to further conflict between Russia and the West.