By J. Edward Conway (4/13/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Over the last several months, the commodities trading giant Glencore has been hinting at a possible IPO – the most anticipated since Goldman Sachs went public in 1999. The company is one of the largest private firms in the world, with an estimated annual turnover of US$ 48 billion. But beyond trading, Glencore also owns and operates significant mining assets in politically “risky” environments, including Kazakhstan.

By Stephen Blank (2/2/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)

In November 2010, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced that Georgia renounced using force to recover its occupied territories in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.  He further advocated resumption of dialogue with Russia and stated that Georgia would accept Russian membership in the World Trade Organization if Georgian border guards were posted in these territories, thereby recognizing Georgia’s sovereignty there. Saakashvili also urged the West to help foster a normalization of relations with Russia.

By Kevin Daniel Leahy (2/2/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)

As the security situation has worsened in the Northern Caucasus over the past several years, Russian political pundits have taken to theorizing as to what sort of state might emerge there should Moscow become unwilling – or perhaps unable – to maintain its suzerainty in the region. It might be assumed that any economic strategy embraced by this new state would be defined by the political viewpoint of its leadership. When it comes to formulating economic strategy, however, it would seem that Moscow bureaucrats, local pro-Moscow elites and public representatives of the rebel movement in the region are reading from the same manuals.