Have you ever read Daniel W. Drezner's blog? He is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, specializing in economic statecraft, the political economy of globalization, and U.S. foreign policy.
One of his posts today seems appropriate for this thread:
Among the things I never thought I'd see
It's very easy to get jaded if you study international relations -- the powerful tend to triumph over the less powerful with regularity, and small states are the playthings of bigger powers. So when thhe ordinary rules of world politics don't hold -- say, the first Lebanese elections free of "Syrian domination," it's worth savoring.
Which brings me to Alex Rodriguez's story in today's Chicago Tribune:
Russia on Monday agreed to shut its military bases in neighboring Georgia by 2008, a decision that effectively pares Kremlin influence in the increasingly West-leaning Caucasus region.
Russia's bases in the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi and near the Georgian-Armenian border are holdovers from the Soviet era and house about 3,000 troops. The agreement is a major victory for Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who has allied his country with the U.S. and Europe and aggressively pushed for the base closings.
You have to visit the blog to get the links to the articles he references:
danieldrezner.com
BTW, You will always be a beacon of light in an otherwise dreary world. Unfortunately, just as light attracts moths in the night, people such as yourself attract more than their fair share of "third-party" posts. Seeing the unintended results of my direct response to your comments, I regret any inconvenience and sincerely wish that I had replied privately, if at all. |
