Eric A. Miller - To Balance or Not to Balance: Alignment Theory and the Commonwealth of Independent States

ERIC A. MILLER
National Institute for Public Policy, USA
and
Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies,
George Washington University, USA

First published 2006 by Ashgate Publishing

Published 2016 by Routledge
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Copyright 2006 Eric A. Miller

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Miller, Eric
To balance or not to balance: alignment theory and the
Commonwealth of Independent States
1. Russia (Federation) - Foreign relations - Ukraine
2. Ukraine - Foreign relations - Russia (Federation)
3. Ukraine - Foreign relations - 1991- 4. Russia (Federation)
- Foreign relations - Uzbekistan 5. Uzbekistan - Foreign
relations - Russia (Federation) 6. Ukraine - Politics and
government - 1991- 7. Uzbekistan - Politics and government
1991
I. Title
327.470477

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Miller, Eric A.
To balance or not to balance: alignment theory and the Commonwealth of Independent
States / by Eric A. Miller.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7546-4334-4
1. Commonwealth of Independent States 2. Nonalignment--Former Soviet republics. 3.
Former Soviet republics--Politics and government. I. Title.
DK1.5.M55 2006
320.94709049--dc22

2005032388

ISBN 9780754643340 (hbk)

Dr. Eric A. Miller is an International Affairs Analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy in Fairfax, Virginia and a Research Associate at the Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He currently provides on-site support for the Missile Defense Agencys International Support Directorate, where he focuses on missile defense issues pertaining to Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. While at National Institute, he has authored studies on U.S. nuclear policy, U.S.-Russian relations, the future of ballistic missiles, efforts to democratize the national security structures of the Republic of Georgia, and Iranian domestic politics and security policy. He also serves as Program Director for the Georgia Forum, a Washington D.C.-based forum dedicated to supporting Georgias political and economic development and promoting stronger U.S.-Georgian relations. He has also served as a consultant and analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, and Joint Forces Staff College, and held teaching positions at Old Dominion University and Christopher Newport University. His articles, commentary, and reviews on Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, U.S. foreign and defense policy, and international relations theory have appeared in leading publications, such as Astropolitics, Defense News, European Security, Financial Times, Janess Intelligence Review, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Problems of Post-Communism, and Security Studies. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida with a certificate in Russian and Slavic Studies, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

This book would not have been possible without the assistance and support of a wide range of colleagues, family members, and friends. My colleagues at Old Dominion University were the first to shape and guide the present work. Steve Yetiv was an enduring supporter and critic which forced me to push the bounds of my own theoretical understanding and to challenge long-standing assumptions in international relations theory. Glen Sussman, Stephen Medvic, and Francis Adams were equally challenging colleagues and never let me get too comfortable. Simon Serfaty and David Smith both left indelible marks on my intellectual and professional development, without which this project and many like it could never have been realized. National Institute for Public Policy, under the leadership of Keith Payne, has been a wonderful intellectual home after graduate school, providing me ample time and space to refine this book. Amy Joseph at NIPP was also wonderfully helpful in the final stages of the manuscript. Other colleagues have read portions of this work in various forms, and for their insights I am forever indebted: Rawi Abdelal, Tor Bukkvoll, Stacy Closson, Steven David, Kurt Taylor Gaubatz, Henry Hale, Richard Harknett, Fiona Hill, Charles King, Deborah Sanders, Joanne Tompkins and Cory Welt. For her tireless support and willingness to endure endless drafts, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Dr. Daneta Billau for all that she has given me professionally and personally. Finally, without my parents, Ron and Kathy, I would not be who I am today, and Meredith, Jim, Ryan, Renee, and especially Pooh, have kept my spirits up over the years and my feet firmly on the ground.