Russian Federation
Tunisian National Defense Institute National Security Seminar
From 6–15 March 2023, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies, in partnership with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), held its twelfth annual Tunisian National Defense Institute (NDI) National Security Seminar for 49 senior government officials from 18 Tunisian agencies....
U.S.-Turkiye Track II Talks
On 9–10 October 2023, the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, in partnership with the Middle East Institute (MEI), held Track II talks between the United States and Türkiye in Ankara. The U.S. delegation included Randa Slim (MEI), Robert Ford (former Ambassador to...
Uzbekistan Group Meetings
From 12–16 December 2022, the NESA Center team of Dean Dr. Roger Kangas, Distinguished Professor Dr. Hassan Abbas, and Research Assistant Michelle Hanssen visited Tashkent, Uzbekistan to hold a series of meetings and visits that focused on reconnecting with Uzbek partners after the Covid-19...
Washington Seminar Discussion – May 2023
On 10 May 2023, the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies hosted a Washington Seminar Discussion at the Army-Navy Club in downtown Washington, D.C. The seminar presented a conversation between Dr. Gawdat Bahgat (Professor, NESA Center) and Dr. Seth Center (Deputy Envoy...
Washington Seminar “A Superpower Awakens: Managing Security in Ukraine and the Middle East in the Modern Age”
On Wednesday, 21 September 2022, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies hosted a Washington Seminar Discussion in Washington, D.C. The seminar was titled “A Superpower Awakens: Managing Security in Ukraine and the Middle East in the Modern Age.” NESA Center Director...
Washington Seminar: “Is the U.S. Pulling Out of the Middle East?”
On 21 April 2022, The Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies hosted another Washington webinar to explore the security challenges facing the Middle East and South Asia. The U.S. national security strategies, over the past two presidential administrations, have called for more...
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CSAG Strategy Paper: "Analyzing The Kashmir Conflict – Chinese Connection and Implications for the US"
Overview: The dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir has resulted in decades of hostility, including three wars. The Kashmir dispute is the oldest pending dispute on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which merits earnest world attention for a permanent solution....
CSAG Strategy Paper: "Lebanon: A Potential Game Changer in the CENTCOM AOR"
Overview: Years of political instability in combination with an ongoing economic crisis — exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion in the Port of Beirut in August 2020 — have brought the country close to collapse. Moreover, the current institutional vacuum (with no president...
CSAG Strategy Paper: "Sanctions on Russia and Economic Impact for Central Asia"
Overview: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has created a geopolitical challenge to the world order. The Russian attack violated not only Ukraine’s security and sovereignty, but also the rules-based international order and created a global economic, political and security crisis. Central Asian...
CSAG Strategy Paper: "The Red Sea – Neglected Nexus"
Overview: The strategic importance of the Red Sea basin, together with the Suez Canal, is obvious. Nevertheless, there are reasons to believe that the Red Sea region is a neglected nexus by the US, but not by others such as China, Russia and Iran. This neglect is primarily because it is a...
CSAG Strategy Paper: "The Russian War's Impact on Global Order"
Overview: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has challenged established international norms and principles. The annexation of Crimea and subsequent full invasion of Ukraine violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which are fundamental principles of international law. The conflict...
CSAG Strategy Paper: "The Soviet-sounding New Foreign Policy of Russia"
Overview: On March 31, President Putin announced an updated concept of Russian foreign policy. The previous document has been in effect since November 30, 2016. The Russian government is adapting its foreign policy assumptions to the changed situation due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and...
CSAG Strategy Paper: The Prospect of Cooperation and Integration among Central Asian States
Overview: In recent years, regional cooperation has been promoted in Central Asia, and the trend of regionalization and regionalism is emerging. Regionalization can be described as a spontaneous bottom-up process. In contrast, regionalism is defined as the political will (hence ‘ism’ is attached...
CSAG Strategy Paper: The Role of Regional Powers in the Contemporary Complex Geo-Political Environment
Overview: Since the late 20th century, the term ‘regional power’ in international relations has been used for a sovereign state that exercises significant power within a given geographical region. There is a broad consensus that a necessary condition for regional ‘power hood’ is that these...
Faculty Publication: Geo-policy and Energy in 2022 by Dr. Gawdat Bahgat
On 3 January 2023, NESA Center Professor Dr. Gawdat Bahgat published "Geo-policy and Energy in 2022" in RiEnergia - ambiente e risorse, punto per punto. "Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought major disruptions to the global energy system and heightened Europe’s...
NESA Center Update: April – May 2023
The NESA Center April – May 2023 Update focuses on Central and South Asia region trends. The update also highlights April through May NESA Center programs and events, faculty and staff engagements, alumni contributions, and a calendar with upcoming events. Central...
Russia and Crimea, Terrorism in Russia, Crisis in Ukraine, the Independence of Kosovo. FALL 2015
The Fall 2015 issue of Connections: The Quarterly Journal addresses two main themes: (1) how the Ukraine crisis is perceived in Central Asia, and (2) can the NATO campaign against Milosevic in 1999 and the independence of Kosovo, declared several years later, serve as precedent, and...
Russia and South Caucasus. Russia vs. US/EU through Georgia and Ukraine. SPRING 2015
The Spring 2015 issue of Connections presents several independent opinions on the Russia - South Caucasus relationship and highlights difficulties of integration in the case of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; other contributions examine Russia vs. EU/US through Georgia and Ukraine case...
Russia's hybrid warfare, crisis in Ukraine, programs in intelligence studies in Germany. WINTER 2016
The Winter 2016 issue of Connections presents original articles on Russia's hybrid warfare toolset and its Soviet predecessors, the crisis in Ukraine, caused by the annexation of Crimea and the Kremlin-backed separatist forces in South-Eastern Ukraine, the enduring validity of Clausewitz's "On War...
Russian Aggression In Ukraine And Outcome In South Asia
APCSS alumnus Binoj Basnyat writes, "When the world is being wedged by COVID-19 the war now has added to the predicament. A third of global wheat and barley, over half of world’s sunflower seed oil is produced in Russia and Ukraine." "The Russo-Ukraine War-II has divided South Asia, will...
The Post-Soviet World. WINTER 2018
The Winter 2018 issue of Connections provides a comprehensive view on Russia's attitude towards, and relations with Bulgaria, Montenegro, Georgia, and Ukraine, with focus on increasing tensions as a result of the consistent use of its hybrid toolbox. Another article looks into cross-border...
The Rise of Generative AI and the Coming Era of Social Media Manipulation 3.0
The RAND Corporation recently published a research report titled "The Rise of Generative AI and the Coming Era of Social Media Manipulation 3.0: Next-Generation Chinese Astroturfing and Coping with Ubiquitous AI." The authors argue that U.S. adversaries can use generative AI for social...
The Role of Strategic Communications in the Security Sector. NATO and Russia in the South Caucasus. SUMMER 2017
The Summer 2017 issue of Connections presents original research in the role of strategic communication, or StratCom, in shaping the image of a security sector organization with examples from the experience of the US and Ukraine, lessons learned from the decades long conflict in Western Sahara, and...