International Commercial Arbitration Political Risk Assessment Expert Witness

Expert, L.L.B., Ph.D., is a recognized authority on the rule of law and state/business relations in Eastern and Central Europe, Russia, Eurasia and the Middle East. He also has extensive expertise in Russian/Eurasian politics and economics, with particular emphasis on international energy and security policy. Expert is a leading expert in his field, and serves as a Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Security at the Sarah and Douglas Allison Center at the Heritage Foundation. He heads the Russian Policy Project, which develops a new and comprehensive U.S. policy towards Russia, and also leads Global Energy Competitiveness Project, which examines investment energy sector environments among principal energy producing states. He also directs Heritage’s energy war games (simulation exercises) and works closely with Congressmen and Congressional staff members and cabinet-level and sub-cabinet domestic and foreign decision-makers.

Expert has edited a co-authored monograph on the Russian constitution (1993); led a research effort and prepared an expert testimonies for a law firm representing financial sector firms and clients in relation to Russia’s state debt obligation default of 1998; prepared expert testimonies and/or testified in four high profile political asylum cases tried by the leading Washington law firms; and wrote expert opinions for investors who are involved in a  multi-billion dollar suit against illegal expropriation in one of the countries of Eurasia.

Expert designed and managed three World Bank legal reform projects in Russia and Georgia (1997-2000). He conducted White House briefings and lectured at the Central Intelligence Agency, the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Training and Doctrine and Special Forces Commands of the US armed services. He regularly participates in CIA/Department of State conferences and war games. Expert frequently testifies before committees of the U.S. Congress, including House Foreign Relations, House Armed Services, House Judiciary Committees and the Helsinki Commission. Expert has directed high-level conferences on international security, including terrorism and energy, rule of law, crime and corruption, and a variety of other issues.

Expert is involved in journalism since 1981, having published 5 books and monographs; close to 30 book chapters and 500 articles in professional and popular media. He appears on CNN, NBC, CBS, FOX, C-SPAN, BBC-TV, Al Jazeera, and all Russian and Ukrainian national TV networks. He was a commentator on a Voice of American weekly radio and TV show for eight years, and is currently comments for the VOA website. He also contributed commentary to Radio Liberty in the 1990s. He wrote a weekly column called The Real World for Middle East Times, and has extensively written as a guest columnist for The International Herald Tribune; The Wall Street Journal; the Washington Times, and the Washington Post. Expert serves as a contributor to The National Interest; EurasiaNet.org, and has written extensively for National Review Online and UPI.

Expert also consulted for a number of Fortune 500 companies. He served as a Policy Advisor with the National Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Deterrence Analysis in a multi-country, multi-year study. Expert has also consulted for US AID, The World Bank, the Pentagon, the U.S. Senate, Radio Liberty-Radio Free Europe.

Expert is a member of the Editorial Board of Central Asia and the Caucasus (Stockholm) and of Caspian Crossroads, and is on the Board of Advisors of Institute for Analysis of Global Security (IAGS) and Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA). His book, Russian Imperialism: Development and Crisis, was published by Praeger Publishers/Greenwood in (1996 hard-cover and 1998 in paperback).  His edited and co-authored book is Eurasia in Balance appeared in 2005 and published by Ashgate(UK). His chapter on War of Ideas has been published in James Carafano, ed., Winning the Long War (The Heritage Foundation, 2005). His monograph, Kazakhstan-Russia Energy Relations: Oil, Gas and Beyond (2005) was published in 2006 by GMB Publishers (London). His book Kazakhstan: The Road to Independence. Energy Policy and the Birth of a Nation is published by Central Asian Caucasus Institute of SAIS Johns Hopkins (2008). His monograph The Russian-Georgian War: Lessons for the Russian Army is forthcoming from the US Army War College (Spring 2011). He is also a Member of the Council of Foreign Relations, International Institute for Strategic Studies (London), Association for Study of Nationalities and American Council on Germany.

Education:

1993         Ph.D., The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts/Harvard, Medford, MA.

1989         Master of Arts, Law and Diplomacy (MALD), The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, including course work at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Fields:  International Business Relations, Private International Law
International Security Studies and Eastern European and Soviet Area Studies.

1986         Graduate, Law (LL.B.) Bar Ilan University School of Law (Israel).  Minor                     Concentrations: International Relations and Political Science.

1983        Advanced Course in Broadcasting and Production, Galei Zahal Radio, Israel

Professional Experience:

November 1992- Present Fellow, Senior Analyst, Senior Research Fellow, Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Heritage Foundation

2003 – 2004 Senior Consultant, Emerging Markets Communications

October 2003 – Lead Consultant – Sectoral study of the Russian energy and infrastructure sectors, Bechtel/Intellibridge

February 2002 – 2004  Policy Advisor, National Institute for Public Policy (NIPP)

2002 — Present, Contributor, National Interest, International Herald Tribune/The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Times, National Review Online, New York Post, UPI, EurasiaNet, Caucasus-Central Asia Analyst

May – October 2002, Chief Evaluator, Non-government sector development project, Eurasia Foundation

June-July 2000 – Adjunct Faculty, Georgetown University

1995 – 1999 Senior Consultant, Government and Emerging Markets practice, Burson-Marsteller.

January 1998-June 1998  Project Leader  The World Bank Baseline Study on Public Awareness, Mass Communication and Legal Education in the Republic of Georgia..

February 1997 – October 1998  Executive Editor, Foundations of Free Society, the first post-communist civics textbook for Russian colleges, the Krieble Institute and American University in Moscow.

June-July 1994  Consultant, Project Evaluator, Checchi & Co., Washington, D.C. Subject: Media Support for Market Reform.

1979-1992  Research, Field Work and Project Management, Radio Liberty Media & Opinion Research (MOR).

1991  Adjunct Faculty, International Marketing, International Business Law, International Relations and Political Science in the  Los Angeles, CA, area.

1986-7  Attorney in private practice, Tel Aviv, Israel.

1985-6  Law Clerk, International Business and Civil Law, Law Offices of Dr. Zvi N. Tamir, Tel Aviv, Israel.

1984  Parliamentary Advisor, the Knesset, Jerusalem, Israel.

1981-1986  Editor and Columnist, Yoman Hashavua, Yediot Ahronot, Globes, Galei Zahal Radio, Alef and others (Israel), La Pensee Russe, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, Paris.

Languages: Functional Native Proficiency: Russian, Hebrew and English.
Working Proficiency: French, Ukrainian and Belorussian (R).

Work and Travel Abroad: Austria; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bulgaria; Canada; China, Costa Rica; Czech Republic; Estonia; France; Georgia; Germany; Great Britain; Holland; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Israel; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Malta; Poland; Romania; South Africa; Switzerland; Turkey; Ukraine; USSR/Russia.

Publications: Over 500 publications in professional and popular media, including over 20 book chapters, on subjects related to international security, Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian politics and economics, business and law, and international energy issues.  Publications list is available upon request.

Professional Membership:  Council on Foreign Relations; International Institute for Strategic Studies (London); Association for Study of Nationalities; American Council on Germany; American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS);

Public Service:

1994-2008 Testimonies, U.S. Congress: Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (three times); House Justice Committee, Crime Subcommittee; House Banking Committee; International Relations Committee (U.S. House of Representatives) – eight times; U.S.-China Commission.
2000 – present, Editorial Board, Central Asia and the Caucasus (Sweden)
2003 – present Board of Advisers, Institute for Analysis of Global Security, Washington
2003   Board of Advisers, Project on Foreign Affinity Terrorism, Center for Terrorism Studies, The Potomac Institute for Public Policy
1999-2008 participation in working groups on the Baltic States, Russia, and Kurdistan at the Council of Foreign Relations

Languages: Russian (native); Hebrew (native level proficiency); Ukrainian, Belorussian – working proficiency; some French.