WASHINGTON, Feb 24—Thomas de Waal, a leading expert on the Caucasus, and Matthew Rojansky, an expert on U.S. and Russian national security and nuclear weapons policies, have joined the Carnegie Endowment’s Russia and Eurasia Program.

Making the announcement, James Collins, former ambassador to Moscow and director of the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Program, said:

“With its long-standing center in Moscow, Carnegie is uniquely positioned to guide policy makers and the public on U.S.–Russian relations and developments in Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. We could not be more pleased that Matt and Tom will be contributing their substantive expertise to Carnegie’s work.

“Tom, whose books are essential reading for anyone looking to understand the region, brings an unparalleled knowledge of the Caucasus with the concise analytical skills of a veteran reporter. Matt will combine his critical insight into the national security and nuclear challenges influencing relations between Russia and the United States with his proven ability to engage the policy community and shape the bilateral dialogue.”

De Waal has worked as a journalist, writer, and NGO activist in the Caucasus and Russia. He is the author of Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War (2003), Chechnya: Calamity in the Caucasus (with Carlotta Gall, 1997) and The Caucasus: An Introduction (summer 2010).

De Waal said:

“This is a very exciting opportunity for me to continue my analytical and writing work on the Caucasus under a Carnegie roof. I hope to be able to bring some new ideas to Washington about this often-misunderstood region and Carnegie, with its great reputation for independence and sharp thinking, already feels like a natural home for me as I embark on this.”

Rojansky, who will join the Endowment as deputy director of the program in April, has served as executive director of the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) since 2007. While at PSA, Rojansky orchestrated high-level bipartisan initiatives aimed at repairing the U.S.–Russia relationship and strengthening the U.S. commitment to nuclear arms control and nonproliferation.

Rojansky said:

“Since coming to Washington, I have worked to bring leaders on both sides of the political aisle together around common sense solutions to our top national security challenges. In my new role at Carnegie, I will seek even greater engagement with policy makers and experts from both parties here in Washington, as well as with political and thought leaders in the region, to advance a productive Euro-Atlantic security dialogue for the 21st century.”

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NOTES

  • Thomas de Waal is a senior associate in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment, specializing primarily in the South Caucasus region comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia and their breakaway territories, as well as the wider Black Sea region. De Waal is an acknowledged expert on the unresolved conflicts of the South Caucasus: Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. From 2002 to 2009 he worked as an analyst and project manager on the conflicts in the South Caucasus for the London-based NGOs Conciliation Resources and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
  • Matthew Rojansky, executive director of the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA), will serve as the deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment beginning in April. Rojansky will be responsible for advancing the Program’s strategic priorities, ensuring operational support for resident and visiting experts, and managing relationships with other Carnegie programs, partner institutions, and policy makers. An expert on U.S. and Russian national security and nuclear weapons policies, his work focuses on relations among the United States, NATO, and the states of the former Soviet Union.
  • The Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Program has, since the end of the Cold War, led the field on Eurasian security, including strategic nuclear weapons and nonproliferation, development, economic and social issues, governance, and the rule of law.
  • The Carnegie Moscow Center was established in 1993 and accommodates foreign and Russian researchers collaborating with Carnegie’s global network of scholars on a broad range of contemporary policy issues relevant to Russia—military, political, and economic.
  • Following its century-long practice of changing as global circumstances change, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is undertaking a fundamental redefinition of its role and mission. Carnegie aims to transform itself from a think tank on international issues to the first truly multinational—ultimately global—think tank. The Endowment has added operations in Beijing, Beirut, and Brussels to its existing centers in Washington and Moscow. These five locations include the two centers of world governance and the three places whose political evolution and international policies will most determine the near-term possibilities for international peace and economic advance. More information on the Carnegie Endowment's Global Vision.