Analysis

This listing contains all the analytical materials posted on the Russia Matters website. These include: RM Exclusives, commissioned by Russia Matters exclusively for this website; Recommended Reads, deemed particularly noteworthy by our editorial team; Partner Posts, originally published by our partners elsewhere; and Future Policy Leaders, pieces by promising young scholars and policy thinkers. Content can be filtered by genre and subject-specific criteria and is updated often. Gradually we will be adding older Recommended Reads and Partner Posts dating back as far as 2011.
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Strategic Posture Commission Report Calls For Broad Nuclear Buildup

Hans Kristensen, Matt Korda, Eliana Johns and Mackenzie Knight October 12, 2023 Recommended Reads
On Oct. 12, the Strategic Posture Commission released its long-awaited report on U.S. nuclear policy and strategic stability. The 12-member Commission was hand-picked by Congress in 2022 to conduct a threat assessment, consider alterations to U.S. force posture and provide recommendations.
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A Country Living in Three Eras: Reflections on the 75th anniversary of the DPRK

Alexander Solovyov September 22, 2023 Recommended Reads
Solovyov considers the Cold War, hegemony and the "grand narratives" underpinning Moscow-Pyongyang ties.
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Biden Must Heed JFK’s Lessons on Rolling Back Nuclear Dangers

Matthew Bunn June 10, 2023 Recommended Reads
On its 60th anniversary, Americans ought to remember President John F. Kennedy’s “A Strategy of Peace” speech and the positive diplomatic efforts it unleashed.
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To Blunt the Threat of Harm From AI, First Prevent Cold War II

Robert Wright June 08, 2023 Recommended Reads
 What's needed is a world more like that of a couple of decades ago, before America's relations with China (and Russia) started to go downhill, the author argues.
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Rattling the Nuclear Saber: What Russia’s Nuclear Threats Really Mean

Lauren Sukin May 04, 2023 Recommended Reads
It is precisely because of, and not in spite of, the fact that Moscow and Pyongyang have repeatedly held their nuclear arsenals over Western heads that leaders should take these threats seriously.
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The Top 5 Lessons from Year 1 of Ukraine’s War

Stephen M. Walt February 09, 2023 Recommended Reads
Europe’s brutal conflict has been a harsh but instructive teacher.
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A ‘Nothingburger’ Letter About Ukraine, the Backlash and Washington’s New Groupthink

Peter Beinart November 04, 2022 Recommended Reads
When a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine finally becomes possible, members of Congress will be wary of endorsing it, even if it enjoys Kyiv's tacit support.
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What Do Americans Care About? Not a Cold War With Russia and China

Katrina vanden Heuvel September 20, 2022 Recommended Reads
Asked about the most urgent issue facing the country today, 27% of Americans—the highest number—ranked inflation as No. 1, while only 2% ranked Ukraine at the top.
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The World Putin Wants

Fiona Hill and Angela Stent August 25, 2022 Recommended Reads
Russia’s president ordered his "special military operation" because he believes that it is Russia’s divine right to rule Ukraine, to wipe out the country’s national identity and to integrate its people into a Greater Russia.
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The Case Against a New Arms Race

Rose Gottemoeller August 09, 2022 Recommended Reads
New defense innovations promise not just to transform warfare but also to undermine the logic and utility of nuclear weapons.
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Reviving Arms Control, Post-Ukraine: Why New START Still Matters

Stephen J. Cimbala and Lawrence J. Korb July 13, 2022 Recommended Reads
Will the continuing war in Ukraine and resulting toxic relations between Russia and NATO push nuclear arms control into the dustbin of history?
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It’s Time to Offer Russia an Offramp. China Can Help With That.

Wang Huiyao March 13, 2022 Recommended Reads
Securing a multilateral resolution to the crisis in Ukraine will be a tough and risky challenge, but there is no country better placed to do so than China.
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