This publication is now archived. IntroductionRussia’s oil exports are up, its currency is strong, and its gross domestic product (GDP) growth has hummed along at a 7 percent clip for the seventh yea…

This publication is now archived. What is at stake in Chechnya’s elections?The parliamentary elections scheduled for November 27 will be the troubled republic’s first since a 1999 war between Chechen…

This publication is now archived. IntroductionDefining a year just past is often a matter of perspective. Sometimes it’s self-evident: 1989 saw communism fall in Europe, 2001 saw terrorism arrive in …

This publication is now archived. Was the war in Iraq justified? There is broad agreement that removing Saddam Hussein from power neutralized a ruthless tyrant. But the debate over why the Unit…

Suicide bombings, once unheard of in Afghanistan, are now on the rise. More than two dozen suicide attacks since parliamentary elections in September 2005 have raised fears that Afghan militants are …