<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Pàl Dunay</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Growing Apart: The Impact of the Russian War in Ukraine on the Former Soviet Space</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Connections: The Quarterly Journal</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Central Asia</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Disintegration</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">former Soviet Union</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Moldova</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Russia</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Russia-Ukraine war</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">South Caucasus</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ukraine</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2022</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Fall 2022</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">21</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">87-114</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The full-scale war launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, began under a false assumption regarding the underlying grand strategy. The ongoing conflict has presented difficult choices for the states in the former Soviet Union, who have approached it with a mix of rational calculation and emotional considerations, viewing it as a conflict between two once brotherly nations. While Russia continues to wield significant influence, and some states depend on it as a security guarantor, the general consensus among the ten states is that Russia’s power and influence are waning. Consequently, they anticipate that Russia will pay less attention to its regional partners, allocate fewer resources to them, and that close association with Russia would strain relations with other important actors, particularly in the West. Russia’s influence has led seven of the ten states to not fully align with either the West or Moscow. While multilateral cooperation through organizations like the CSTO and EAEU was not paramount due to the prevailing “hub and spoke” structure, these states now face a noticeable stalemate. Despite Russia’s lingering influence, fueled in part by economic disparities, a rapid “growing apart” occurs in the area of the former Soviet Union. Some actors are distancing and disengaging faster than ever, leading to a shifting geopolitical landscape.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">4</style></issue><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">87</style></section></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Khayal Iskandarov</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Piotr Gawliczek</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">NATO’s Role in Improving Professional Military Education with a Focus on the South Caucasus Countries</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Connections: The Quarterly Journal</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">cooperation</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">DEEP</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Interoperability</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">NATO</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">PME</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Professional Military Education</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">South Caucasus</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2019</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Summer-Fall 2019</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">18</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">35-44</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The presented article underlines the priority of education and considers the role of Professional Military Education (PME) in enhancing defense capabilities and preparing the military leaders who are able to make strategic decisions and solve complex problems. It emphasizes a PME as a cornerstone of the military build-up. The authors examine the main characteristics of PME and underscore its importance for increasing the interoperability between the NATO allies and the South Caucasus nations. Taking the broad meaning of interoperability into account, the authors attempted to bring to the fore the critical need for increasing the intellectual interoperability with outside expertise. Further, the authors point out the importance of the Defense Education Enhancement Program (DEEP) as a new system for improving PME and building better-integrated forces in the South Caucasus. At the same time, this article identifies factors that will lead towards the enhancement of the relations amongst the South Caucasus nations themselves. The goal is to consider how the South Caucasus countries can more effectively address the challenges in PME and to formulate suggestions and recommendations. Comparative analysis, synthesis, inductive, and deductive methods have been used to produce conclusive outcomes and recommendations for the countries in the region.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">3</style></issue><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">35</style></section></record></records></xml>