Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 16, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad enter a hall during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, October 20, 2015. (REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin)

Maria Snegovaya, Washington Post: Putin can’t last forever. Will a post-Putin Russia look like Syria today?

Russian politicians often suggest that a post-Putin future would look like Syria’s: a bloody civil war. During his address to the United Nations in 2015, for example, Putin suggested that the export of so-called democratic revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa led to violence, poverty and social disaster. The power vacuum created “areas of anarchy,” as he put it, filled immediately with extremists and terrorists.

But a look at what we know about political transitions from social science suggests that Russia’s transition to democracy will not look like Syria’s bloody war. Let us explain why.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 16, 2016

What did Russia's six-month intervention in Syria accomplish? -- Fred Weir, CSM

Russia's withdrawal from Syria: Mission accomplished? -- Glenn Diesen, Lowy Institute

In Damascus, Syrians celebrate Putin as their hero. Will they miss him? -- Loveday Morris, Washington Post

Kurdish moves on federalism cloud Syria peace drive -- Rodi Said and Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters

Could Iran and the US Overcome Their Mutual Animosity to Eradicate Daesh? -- Ehsan Ahrari, Small Wars Journal

AP Analysis: N. Korea nuke threat not all bluff and bluster -- Eric Talmadge, AP

China Needs a New Commitment to Economic Reform -- Bloomberg editorial

Obama On China, Weak and Strong -- Sam Roggeveen, Lowy Institute

Inside the Harrowing Night Hundreds of Refugees Tried to Escape Greece -- Simon Shuster, Time

Putin’s Dilemma: To Sell Or To Nationalize Oil Assets -- Dalan McEndree, OilPrice.com

Six Ways the U.S. Can Defeat Putin and Bolster Ukraine -- Ian Brzezinski, Atlantic Council

How the Petrobras Scandal Ensnared Lula—and Upturned Brazilian Politics -- Matt Sandy, Time

Venezuela: Will opposition's push for Maduro resignation gain traction? -- J.J. Gallagher, CSM

The Difficult Road Ahead for Colombia -- Callie Wang, The Cipher

The United States is not finished as a world power -- Terry Glavin, National Post

The Soldiers and The Donald -- Zach Abels, National Interest

Clinton Has Won. Trump? Not Yet. -- Jonathan Bernstein, Bloomberg