Good Friday, Friday Good. Today I want to take some time out and showcase some of the excellent work done by other FPA writers and bloggers that either directly or indirectly affect Central Asia, most involving the Georgia-Russia conflict.
FPA contributer Marco Vicenzino has written two solid analyses of a Reassertive Russia Part I, Part II. Vincenzino discusses Russia's agenda before and after the conflict and goes over possible US responses, much ado about nothing. He takes a realist perspective of the situation as is largely on point.
Joel Davis from the FPA blog US Role in the World discussed US options in the conflict.
Vadim Nikitin's Russia blog is a must-read resource on the recent conflict and Russia's role in other former Soviet States and in the world. He has covered reasons for the conflict, US media bias against Russia, Medvedev's popularity boost, to name just a few.
Two other blogs to check out covering the conflict are Mark Dillen's Caucasus and US-China Trade, which provides some analysis of China's view and response to the situation.
Karin Esposito of the Religion and Politics blog quickly analyzed the recent terror attacks in China's Xinjiang Province during the Olympics, discussing whether the movement is religiously motivated rather than politically desperate.
And for those who just can't get enough of Russia-Georgia analysis – Here are some of the more provocative editorials I have read, interestingly most of them take on a strong realist and deferential view of Russia's renewal, and I don't blame them as that is what the facts are the ground suggest, but surely this conflict was not a KO for US influence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. NYT US Sees Much to Fear in a Hostile Russia, WSJ Russia Still a Hungry Empire, Washington Post Is Ossetia Essential?, Washington Post Russia's Flashback to 1968, The Brookings Institute's Johannes F. Linn, a Central Asian expert, War in Georgia- End of an Era, Beginning a New Cold War?, and here are a couple articles discussing the illiberal nature of this conflict, Slate's Christopher Hitchens South Ossetia Isn't Kosovo, and Trudy Rubin's There's No Excusing Russia's Attack. Well I hope you find some of this interesting and thought-provoking. Have a great weekend.
