Year One of the Biden Administration: U.S. Foreign Policy Towards Russia - new article by L.M. Sokolshchik
Lev Sokolshchik, an associate professor of the School of International Regional Studies and research fellow of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEIS), has published an article in the Journal of Eurasian Studies. The paper addresses the following key issues:
- How has Russia’s place in U.S. foreign policy changed under the Biden administration?
- What factors have contributed to increased confrontation between the United States and Russia under the Biden administration?
- What factors limited U.S. foreign policy ambitions towards Russia, as well as any negotiation opportunities?
- Where was cooperation possible between the United States and Russia, and where were disputes inevitable?
The work is available here.
Abstract
The article provides an analysis of Russia’s role and place in President Biden’s U.S. foreign policy aims. Particularly, this paper explores clashing world order visions, issues pertaining to national sovereignty, post-Soviet space development, sanction policies, climate change issues, and global security. The following research reveals that the rivalry between the United States and Russia influences the system of international relations, because both parties promote substantially different concepts of the future world order. The Biden administration was unwilling to make the necessary concessions to accommodate Russia because 1) there is a huge gulf between the two country’s world views that even makes negotiations between the two almost impossible, and 2) because it does not take Russia seriously and views it as a declining power. As a result, the two sides were unable to come to some kind of negotiated agreement that would have addressed Russia’s concerns including the Ukraine issue. Instead, deterring Russia has become a priority for U.S. foreign policy in critical areas such as national sovereignty, the democratic development of post-Soviet countries, Russian-related human rights issues, and U.S. sanction policies against Russia. Comparing Trump’s presidency to the Biden administration’s first year in office, Biden has championed a more pragmatic narrative towards Russia. Most evidently, this is manifested in problems concerning universal global challenges such as strategic stability, cyber-security, and even aspects of climate change. Nevertheless, the possibility of concluding any serious negotiations between the parties on new world order parameters seems less realistic today than ever before.
Keywords
Russia, United States, foreign policy, Biden administration, U.S.–Russia relations