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Ariel Cohen (born April 3, 1959) L.L.B., Ph.D. is a political scientist focusing on political risk, international security and energy policy, and the rule of law. Dr. Cohen currently serves as Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy at the Heritage Foundation. He specializes in Russia/Eurasia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Dr. Cohen testified before committees of the U.S. Congress, including the Senate and House Foreign Relations Committees, the House Armed Services Committee, the House Judiciary Committee and the Helsinki Commission. Cohen consults for Fortune 500 companies and international law firms. He served as a Senior Consultant for Burson Marsteller’s Emerging Markets practice, a global public affairs firm, and for Emerging Markets Communications, a boutique strategic communications consultancy. He has prepared expert testimonies and/or testified in high profile cases tried by leading Washington law firms; and written expert opinions for investors involved in multi-billion dollar suits against illegal expropriations in the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. He also served as a Policy Adviser with the National Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Deterrence Analysis. In addition, Dr. Cohen has consulted for USAID, The World Bank, the Pentagon, the U.S. Senate, and Radio Liberty-Radio Free Europe. Dr. Cohen is a frequent writer and commentator in the American and international media. He has published six books and monographs; 30 book chapters; and countless articles in professional and popular media. He appeared on CNN, NBC, CBS, FOX, C-SPAN, BBC-TV, Al Jazeera English, and all Russian and Ukrainian national TV networks. He was a commentator on a Voice of America weekly radio and TV show for eight years. Currently, he is a Contributing Editor to the National Interest and a blogger for the Voice of America. He has extensively written as a guest columnist for the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, EurasiaNet, and National Review Online. In Europe, Cohen’s analyses have appeared in Kommersant, Izvestiya, Hurriyet, the popular Russian website Ezhenedelny Zhurnal, and many others ,

'Key Topics Italic text

Oil and the Economic Crisis Dr. Cohen forewarned that oil prices in the $140-$150 range per barrel would cause a worldwide economic crisis. What Is Driving the High Oil Prices? by Ariel Cohen, Ph.D. and Owen Graham, June 9, 2008

Corruption in Russia and Eurasia Dr. Cohen warned about the tidal wave of crime and corruption sweeping Eurasia, threatening to bury foreign investors and fragile democratic institutions in the countries of the former Soviet Union. He cautioned repeatedly that multi-billion dollar financial aid to the corrupt Russian government would end up in the wrong pockets – which indeed happened after the 1998 Russian financial crisis. “Crime and Corruption in Eurasia: A Threat to Democracy and International Security”, March 17, 1995

Russian Economic Collapse of 1998 Dr. Cohen predicted the Russian financial collapse in a Heritage Foundation analysis published over a year before the event actually took place. Russia's Borrowing Spree: A Looming Financial Crisis, May 28, 1997

War in Georgia Ariel Cohen is a recognized authority on Russian policy in the South Caucasus. In 2006, and again, in March 2008, he warned about an upcoming war between Russian and Georgia Springtime is for War? March 31, 2006

Al Qaeda Threat Over the last 12 years, Dr. Cohen has been writing about U.S. power projection on a global scale due to the war on terrorism and the issues it raises. In July 2001, just two months before Osama bin Laden’s terror network struck the United States, Cohen testified before Congress, encouraging the U.S. government to “…counter the efforts of radical Islamic groups in Central Asia, including the Taliban and the Osama bin Laden organization”

Hizb it-ut Tahrir al Islami in Central Asia In the U.S., Cohen was among the first to study Hizb it-ut Tahrir al Islami (the Islamic Party of Liberation) in a seminal paper, Hizb ut-Tahrir: An Emerging Threat to U.S. Interests in Central Asia, May 30, 2003

Education

Dr. Cohen graduated of Bar Ilan University Law School in Israel in 1986 with L.L.B. In 1989 he received M.A. in Law and Diplomacy and in 1993 a Ph.D. from the prestigious Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Select Bibliography Italic text

Books

The Russian Military and the Georgia War: Lessons and Implications (with Robert E. Hamilton and Strategic Studies Institute), (Military Bookshop, 2011) ISBN: 978-1780395135

Kazakhstan: The Road to Independence Central Asia Caucasus Institute, 2008, paperback] ISBN: 978-9185937363

Kazakhstan: Energy Cooperation with Russia - Oil, Gas and Beyond (GMB Publishing, 2006, paperback) ISBN: 978-1905050413 This important study explains how Russia, with its private sector and policy makers working in tandem, has exerted a significant amount of control over Kazakhstan's vast natural resources and its economic freedom.

Eurasia in Balance (Ashgate, 2005, hardcover), ISBN: 978-0754644491 Offers a comprehensive overview of the security dynamics of an under- analyses region of the world, this volume contains contributions from experts who examine policies of the major players in the region including Russia, China, India, Iran and Turkey. It contains thematic chapters which detail economic and security analyses pre 9/11.

Russian Imperialism: Development and Crisis (Praeger, 1996 – hardcover, 1998-paperback), ISBN: 978-0275964818

Chapters

"Russian Rule and the Regional Military Industrial Complexes," in Henry D. Sokolski and Thomas Riisager, eds., Beyond Nunn-Lugar: Curbing the Next Wave of Weapons Proliferation Threats from Russia, Non-proliferation Policy Education Center, 2002

"U.S. Policy Towards Russia," in Kim R. Holmes and Stuart E. Butler, eds., in Mandate 2000: The Blueprint for the Next Administration", The Heritage Foundation, 2000

"Russia and Eurasia," in Kim R. Holmes and Stuart E. Butler, eds., Issues 2000, The Candidate Briefing Book, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., 2000

"Ukrainian and Russian Organized Crime: A Threat to Emerging Civil Society," in Sharon L. Wolchik and Volodymyr Zvigyanich, eds., Ukraine: The Search for a National Identity, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000

"Spreading Freedom: Building Democracy and Public Diplomacy," in Issues 2000, The Candidate Briefing Book, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., 2000

"Crime and Corruption in Russia and Ukraine: Threats East and West," in Sharon Lee Wolchik and Vladimir Zviglianich, eds., Ukraine in the Post Soviet Space, Rowman and Littlefield, (Boston, MA,1999)

"Spreading Freedom: Public Diplomacy and Democracy Building," (with Thomas Moore) in Issues 98, The Candidates Briefing Book, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1998

"Revisiting Russia’s Turbulent Frontier: Moldova, Caucasus and Central Asia," in Uri Raanan and Kate Martin, eds., Russia: A Return to Imperialism?, St. Martins Press, 1995

"Crime and Corruption in Russia," in White Book on Global Crime, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 1995

"Commodity Exchanges and the Post-Soviet Market," in Deborah A. Palmieri, ed., Russia and NIS in the World Economy and Business Environment: East-West Investment, Financing and Trade Issues, Praeger, 1994

"What U.S. International Information Policy?" in Jeane Kirkpatrick, ed., Security and Insecurity, Empower America, 1994.

Essays

Reset Regret: Heritage Foundation Recommendations

“Central Asian Terrorism: An Emerging Threat to U.S. Security” with Morgan Roach, The Heritage Foundation, June 13, 2011

“Turkey after the Elections: Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy” with Sally McNamara, The Heritage Foundation, June 8, 2011

TestimonyItalic text

Time to Pause the Reset? Defending U.S. Interests in the Face of Russian Aggression, Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, July 7, 2011

European and Eurasian Energy: Developing Capabilities for Security and Prosperity, Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia, Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, June 2, 2011

Foreign Policy and National Security Implications of Oil Dependence, Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, March 22, 2007

Ariel Cohen's Research Interests Include:Italic text

Russia and Eurasia Middle East Eastern Mediterranean: Greece, Cypress, Israel, and Turkey

Political Risk Assessment Good Governance Government Corruption Rule of Law Human Rights International Commercial Arbitration Immigration US-Russia Relations

Current Appointments Italic text

Member, Council on Foreign Relations Member, International Institute for Strategic Studies Member, American Council on Germany Member, Association for the Study of Nationalities