Today's guest is Ariel Cohen, a scholar focusing on political risk, international security and energy policy, and the rule of law, working as a specialist on Russia, Eurasia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. He’s currently a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, the director of the Energy, Growth, and Security Program at the International Tax and Investment Center (which promotes tax reform and public-private initiatives to improve the investment climate in transition and developing economies), and he’s a columnist at Forbes. Ariel talked at length about growing up in the Soviet Union, and how his childhood experiences inform his thinking to this day, not just about Russia, but about human nature and geopolitics. And he discussed conditions in the U.S. foreign service these days, where he says the demise of regional studies has done serious damage. Also, he talked about how he came to political risk analysis. Follow Dr. Cohen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dr_Ariel_Cohen Support this very podcast here: www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock Music and audio: Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7s Олег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQ