Featured topics in this issue: Congressional Research Service, Voter Rights in D.C.

Read these articles in Russian here.

The Art of Analysis
Interview with Stuart D. Goldman, Specialist in Russian and Eurasian Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service.

The “Last Colony”
In the U.S. there are about 600 thousand people who don’t have the same rights as other citizens of the United States. Ironically, it’s the residents of the U.S. capital - the town of Washington, part of the Federal District of Columbia. As a result, the politically disenfranchised Washington is occasionally referred to as the "last colony" or "the last plantation."

Transforming Washington
The United States Constitution grants Congressional voting representation to residents of the states. The District is not a state, it is a federal territory and in order to obtain equal voting rights it will be necessary to change the legal status of the District of Columbia.

The Post American World
We are entering a new "post-American" world order in which the role of the United States of America will be diminished, although not irrelevant, argues Fareed Zakaria who is a well known political analyst and is the Editor of Newsweek International. In his new book, The Post American World, he describes this phenomenon as the "Rise of the Rest" an increase of the economic, diplomatic, and social power in the rest of the world.

American Power and Goals
Much of Zakaria’s book focuses on the United States and its future, some comparison to the British Empire warrants careful analysis.

Measuring Power
While the United States remains the sole military superpower, in many other dimensions - industrial, financial, educational, social and cultural - the United States is no longer the dominant force.

Allies and Adversaries
A good part of Zakaria’s book is dedicated to the two most populated countries in the world - China and India. In the first, the author sees a rival of the United States in the second - an ally.