Georgia, Framing, and the Aftermath of the Conflict
A friend emails me to say: I just watched video of Saakashvili’s press conference with Sarkozy. Still claiming outright that the Russians started it and that the Russians are the invaders. Speaking...
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Before they disappear into the ether
I’ve been fairly prolific lately. This state of affairs stems, in part, from what I’ve been working on for the last couple days: copy editing page proofs, which amounts to one of the dullest things...
View ArticleErosi Kitsmarishvili points the finger at Tbilisi
The New York Times reports: A parliamentary hearing on the origins of the war between Georgia and Russia in August ended in a furor on Tuesday after a former Georgian diplomat testified that Georgian...
View ArticleThe Georgia “Mutiny”
A quick note on events in Georgia: be very suspicious whenever the government accuses any opposition group or movement of being linked to Russia. Tbilisi has mounted a concerted effort to paint it...
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Whodunnit: The Five-Day War
The EU released its report on the August war between Georgia and Russia on Wednesday, and for the last two days the press has reported that it proves “Georgia started the war with Russia.” Even Joshua...
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EU Russia-Georgia Report Redux
I have a commentary at the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website today on the EU’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia. It expands on my earlier remarks about...
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Notes on Hegemony and Symbolic Capital
This is of interest only to international-relations theorists and fellow travelers. A long-standing claims about hegemonic orders is that they are normative ones: that a dominant power uses a wide...
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Recent analytic content on the Duck: a guide
I thought that it would be a good idea to provide a consolidated list of: 1. Older Duck posts on the conflict with significant “original” analytic content2. Recent non-Georgia posts that might have...
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A Conflict of position and maneuver (updated … and updated again … with...
Russia, NATO, Georgia, the Abkhaians… everyone, sensing the final draw-down of the immediate crisis, is trying to, variously, make sense of what it all means, maximize their long-term position, or just...
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When Worlds Collide
With all of the excellent almost-real-time analysis going on around here lately, I haven’t felt the need to chime in myself; my Duck colleagues are doing an excellent job, and they are more up-to-date...
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Georgia: The Reuters “Bullet Points” and some of my own (updated)
I knew that CNN did this, but so, apparently does Reuters. Who needs blog updates? * Reuters reporter sees Russian tanks leave Georgian city* Russia says additional “peacekeeping” posts needed* NATO...
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Maybe we’ve got it all wrong… (updated)
No matter what their take on culpability for the Russo-Georgian War, almost all commentators in the west agree that Russia emerged the undisputed victor: Georgia lies prostrate at its feet, a divided...
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Putin’s revenge
Because one good Kosovo deserves another (or two)? Russia’s parliament has backed a motion urging the president to recognise the independence of Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South...
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Russia recognizes Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence
That was quick. So much for the resolution simply serving as “leverage” for Putin and Medvedev in negotiations with the US and NATO. As predicted, Moscow’s rationale borrows directly from the west’s...
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Totten and Georgia
A lot of people are buzzing about Michael Totten’s report on Georgia, in which he claims to have discovered the real truth about the outbreak of the war: Tblisi launched a preemptive attack in the face...
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The US to the left, China to the right….
Russia encircled by enemies plotting against it? CNN’s summary of its interview with Putin, passed along without comment: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of...
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United Ossetia?
Rob Farley points to a Times article reporting that Russia will soon annex South Ossetia. The source for the report? The South Ossetian president. So, as Rob notes, caveat emptor. Indeed, I can’t find...
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The strong do what they will…
Russian Foreign Ministry pleased that the European Union eschewed sanctions. Share
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Russia mounts a counteroffiensive in the propaganda war
Via email: You’ve seen the Georgian claims that they were just responding to a Russian attack when they invaded Tskhinvali. The Russians are now citing amateur video taken on the first day of fighting...
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The market punished Russia
Dan previously reported that the European Union decided not to impose economic sanctions on Russia — at least for now. However, The New York Times had an interesting story on September 3 noting that...
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