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RSI Connect: Russian & Turkish Competition in the Near Abroad

From RSI

Date: April 22nd, 2021 at 15:00 CET / 09:00 EST Platform: Cisco Webex Events

Link to Video Recording Recording Password: ApVimXDR742

Abstract

This webinar will examine Russian and Turkish competition in their respective near abroad, including Syria, the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Format

Each panelist will present for 5-7 minutes followed by guided discussion and 30 minutes of Q&A.

Agenda

  • 1500-1540 CEST / 0900-0940 EST: Presentations
 * Kimberly Marten - Professor, Barnard College  
 * Ambassador (ret.) James Jeffrey - Chair of Middle East Program, Wilson Center  
 * Marlene Laruelle - Professor, George Washington University  
  • 1540-1600 CEST / 0940-1000 EST: Guided Discussion
  • 1600-1630 CEST / 1000-1030 EST: Question & Answer Session

Biographies

Panelist: Kimberly Marten

File:Photo Kimberly Marten.jpg
Kimberly Marten

Title: Professor of Political Science Affiliation: Barnard College, Columbia University

Kimberly Marten is a professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University, and a faculty member of Columbia’s Harriman Institute and Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies. She has written four books, including Warlords: Strong-Arm Brokers in Weak States (2012) and Engaging the Enemy: Organization Theory and Soviet Military Innovation (1993).

She is a frequent media commentator and has testified before Congress about Russia’s Wagner Group. Marten earned her A.B. at Harvard and Ph.D. at Stanford.

Panelist: James Jeffrey

File:Photo James Jeffrey.jpg
James Jeffrey

Title: Chair of Middle East Program Affiliation: Wilson Center

Ambassador James F. Jeffrey is the Chair of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center. He retired from the Foreign Service with the rank of Career Ambassador in 2012 and was recalled to serve as the State Department’s Special Representative for Syria and Special Envoy to the Coalition to Defeat ISIS (2018-2020).

Jeffrey has held senior posts in Washington, D.C., and abroad, including Ambassador to Turkey and Iraq, and Deputy National Security Advisor in the George W. Bush Administration. He is a former infantry officer in the U.S. Army.

Panelist: Marlene Laruelle

File:Photo Marlene Laruelle.jpg
Marlene Laruelle

Title: Professor Affiliation: George Washington University

Marlene Laruelle is Research Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. She works on the rise of populist and illiberal movements in post-Soviet Eurasia, Europe, and the US, as well as Russia's ideological landscape and outreach abroad.

She has been the Principal Investigator of several grants from organizations such as the US State Department, Defense Department, and National Science Foundation.

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