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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With Russia and the US, Nuclear Risks Never Go Out of Vogue

Jon B. Wolfsthal November 08, 2018 RM Exclusives
Thirty-five years after Able Archer, the lack of sustained, high-level engagement with Russia risks once again putting America and its allies at unnecessary risk of a nuclear conflict no one wants or even expects.
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Why the Arms Race Is Still White Hot Decades After the Cold War Ended—and How to Stop It

Jonathan Hunt November 02, 2018 Recommended Reads
Did the Cold War arms race actually end, or have we merely sat through a 30-year intermission?
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Putin Deepens Confusion About Russian Nuclear Policy

Abigail Stowe-Thurston, Matt Korda and Hans M. Kristensen October 25, 2018 RM Exclusives
Rather than strengthening deterrence, ambiguity surrounding U.S. and Russian nuclear thresholds is causing both sides to make dangerous assumptions about one another’s intentions.
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Dawn of a New Armageddon

Cynthia Lazaroff August 06, 2018 Partner Posts
Perhaps the world was safer during the Cold War. Today’s world has entered a new, unchecked and deadly arms race, and arms control has become hostage to political hostilities between the United States and Russia.
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Averting the US-Russia Warpath

James N. Miller, Richard Fontaine and Alexander Velez-Green February 22, 2018 Partner Posts
For Russia and the U.S., new incentives for using "nonkinetic" weapons, like cyber attacks, threaten the stability afforded by mutually assured destruction.
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New START Expires in 3 Years and Nobody Knows What Comes Next

Nikolai Sokov February 06, 2018 Partner Posts
Much stands in the way of a new treaty, but allowing New START to expire would not be in either country's interest.
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US Approach to Russia in New Nuclear Posture Review Risks Boosting Chances of Conflict

Jon Wolfsthal February 02, 2018 RM Exclusives
Instead of using trusted tools to manage our countries’ high-risk frictions, the new NPR seems to pursue the one thing that failed to make America and its allies safer in the Cold War: a nuclear arms race.
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The Russification of US Deterrence Policy

Nikolai Sokov December 25, 2017 Recommended Reads
The United States now shares the same concerns as Russia. This might be good news or bad news, depending on political decisions.
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US Response to Russia Treaty Violation Plays into Moscow's Hands

Steven Pifer November 15, 2017 Recommended Reads
The proposal to develop U.S. intermediate-range missiles would not just further jeopardize the INF Treaty; it is both impracticable and opens the door for Russia to deploy such missiles without fear.
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Nuclear Dangers from North Korea: Managing the Risks to the US and Russia

Joshua H. Pollack October 27, 2017 RM Exclusives
The risk of an American conflict with North Korea is growing, and along with it so is the risk of an accidental war between the two nuclear superpowers.
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Russian Nuclear Forces: Buildup or Modernization?

Hans M. Kristensen September 14, 2017 RM Exclusives
Russia is not increasing its nuclear arsenal, though some commentators keep saying it is. What's important, however, is to monitor how Russia is modernizing its strategic nuclear forces.
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Review of NASIC Report 2017: Nuclear Force Developments

Hans M. Kristensen June 30, 2017
Newly updated, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) report provides a rare and invaluable official resource for monitoring and analyzing the status of ballistic and cruise missiles around the world.
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