{"id":1090,"date":"2020-05-12T12:49:24","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T16:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/?p=1090"},"modified":"2020-05-12T12:49:24","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T16:49:24","slug":"russia-and-the-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/2020\/05\/12\/russia-and-the-west\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia and the West"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Note:\u00a0 Students in Dr. Hannah Chapman\u2019s Spring 2020 Havighurst Colloquium, \u201cRussia and the World,\u201d completed final projects where they assessed Russian relations with the West, East, North, and South.\u00a0 This is the first project from students responsible for studying Russia and the West.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Megan Burtis, Matt Klingbergs, Ailin Luo, Jonny Maxwell, and Brandon Sigars<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of Tension<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia wants to reclaim the\ngeographic and political power that it lost after the breakup of the Soviet\nUnion<\/a>.\nIn the early 1990s, many officials believed in the opportunity for a new age in\nRussian relations with the West. This hope was short-lived. Russian President\nVladimir Putin eventually called the breakup<\/a> of the USSR the \u201cthe\ngreatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of Russia’s clashes with the West<\/a> have centered on Russia\u2019s\nannexation of Crimea and their involvement in Syria. Russian leaders believe\nthey are supporting ethnic-Russians, combatting terrorism, and ensuring\nstability. West officials tend to believe Russia that is supporting autocrats,\nengaging in election interference or cyber hacking, and sowing the seeds of division<\/a> in Western democracies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia sees the West and specifically\nthe United States as hypocrites. For example, the United States advocates for nuclear treaties<\/a>, punishes Russia when they\ndo not follow them, but then leaves these treaties when they no longer desire\nto be a part of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are still many ways that Russia\ncan work with the West. This approach was exemplified when former US President\nBarack Obama and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declared a \u201creset\u201d in relations<\/a>. Despite mutual recognition\nof the importance of cooperation, the West and Russia have sometimes continued\nto antagonize each other. Even with their differences, these countries know\nthat they have to work together. It is in the interest of both Russia and the\nUnited States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenges to Cooperation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the annexation of Crimea<\/a>, the U.S. and the EU began\nimposing sanctions against Russia targeting Russia\u2019s state finances, energy,\nand arms sectors. This response has become an obstacle in repairing the\nRussia-U.S relationship and as a result, both countries regard each other as\nuntrustworthy. On February 1st, 2019, the United States announced its\nwithdrawal from the intermediate-range\nnuclear forces treaty<\/a> (INF). The withdrawal of the U.S. from the INF has limited the possibility<\/a> of repairing the US-Russia\nbilateral relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another challenge lies in the Syrian conflict<\/a> as Russia has been the main\nexternal support for the Assad regime since the conflict began in 2011. In\n2019, U.S. troops withdrew from Syria and abandoned their alignment with the\nKurds and the Kurdish-Turkish conflict is still ongoing after the American\nforces left. Russia and Turkey agreed on a ceasefire deal<\/a> in Syria\u2019s Idlib region on\nMarch 5th, 2020, but a ceasefire deal didn\u2019t resolve the conflict. It\u2019s a challenge\nfor Russia to resolve<\/a> the Kurdish-Turkish conflict\nsince former ISIS fighters are being guarded by the Kurds now and the U.S. is\nno longer present to assist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the U.S., the West\nalso poses a challenge in the form of NATO<\/a>. In 2014, NATO suspended cooperation\nwith the Russian Federation. The Republic of North Macedonia became the\nlatest country to join NATO<\/a>, which had been encouraged by the situation in\nGeorgia and NATO\u2019s support. The West and Russia don\u2019t have the same view of\nNATO, as Russia sees the organization as a threat to their influence while the\nU.S. sees it as a vehicle for guaranteeing security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the past history between the\nWest and Russia, there are many opportunities for future cooperation. A great\nand crucial field for cooperation among the two is nuclear\nnonproliferation<\/a>: stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and materials to\nstates not recognized as nuclear powers. The U.S. retreated from the\nIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty<\/a> (INF) in 2018 and the New START<\/a> nuclear deal is set to expire in\n2021. Although both countries are equally prepared to begin rebuilding their\nnuclear arsenals, the leaders of both countries, Donald Trump and Vladimir\nPutin, have expressed interest in ensuring that current security measures\ncontinue, as well as possibly expanding to include other countries, especially\nChina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Russia\nand the U.S. also have a shared interest in combating terrorism, both foreign\nand domestic. As foreign terrorism has grown throughout Europe and Asia, Russia\nhas been working, along with other organizations and countries, to increase\nsecurity and thwart these attacks. The U.S. also helped Russia stop such an\nattack in St. Petersburg on New Year\u2019s 2020<\/a>. <\/em>The U.S. and Russia have also been working to stop violent white\nsupremacist groups<\/a> and domestic terrorists that have been active in both\ncountries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Finally,\nthe West and Russia are both interested in bringing stability to the Middle\nEast, an important area of resources to both. Their tactics and policies\nhave differed<\/a> as, for example, Russia supports Syria\u2019s government to bring\nstability while the U.S. has supported regime change. A common interest of\nensuring stability and security, as well as putting an end to human rights abuses<\/a>, in the Middle East could\none day lead to further cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Way Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through renewed cooperation with the\nUnited States with global terrorism, Russia would be able to show itself as a\ncountry built on values of global security and safety. Coupled with this,\nRussia and the United States should work together towards a new policy regarding nuclear\nweapons<\/a>. Due to the sheer force of destruction that nuclear weapons possess,\nRussia would benefit by working with the U.S. to limit the use of such weapons,\nespecially in regards to nuclear terrorism<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Now the\nquestion arises, where does this approach benefit? The answer is the Middle\nEast, where combined forces between the U.S. and Russia would help stabilize\nthe region. Both countries have shown that they would prefer stability in the\nregion, as evidenced by efforts in the Syrian\nconflict<\/a>. An advantage that Russia has over that of the United States is their interconnected\nrelationships<\/a> with that of the Middle Eastern countries; while the U.S.\nhas alienated most of the countries that reside in the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Both\nthe United States and Russia have had (to put it lightly) contentious relations\nsince the end of the Cold War. However, in an effort for global peace and\ncooperation, Russia would not only be seen as the amicable partner, but a\ncountry dedicated to peace and stability if they extended a hand to the West in\nthese conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Megan Burtis is a senior completing a\ncombined BA\/MA in Political Science with a co-major in Global &\nIntercultural Studies. She was responsible for\nresearching a proposed policy approach for cooperation between Russia and the\nWest<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt Klingbergs is a senior majoring\nin Diplomacy & Global Politics. He was responsible for researching the\npotential opportunities for the West and Russia to cooperate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ailin Luo is a senior majoring in\nDiplomacy & Global Politics. She was responsible for researching the\nchallenges that may create obstacles to future policies aimed at cooperation\nbetween Russia and the West. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonny Maxwell is a senior majoring in\nDiplomacy & Global Politics and History. He was responsible for researching\nthe history of Russia\u2019s relationship with the West and providing context for\nfuture efforts at cooperation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brandon Sigars is a senior majoring\nin Political Science and History. He was responsible for researching a proposed\npolicy approach for cooperation between Russia and the West.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note:\u00a0 Students in Dr. Hannah Chapman\u2019s Spring 2020 Havighurst Colloquium, \u201cRussia and the World,\u201d completed final projects where they assessed Russian relations with the West, East, North, and South.\u00a0 This is the first project from students responsible for studying Russia … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":781,"featured_media":1091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays","category-russia-in-the-news","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/781"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/havighurst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}