U.S., Russia and the Global War on Terror: "Shoulder to Shoulder" into Battle?
Abstract
The demise of the Soviet Union shifted paradigms around the world, causing many to conceive of a new era of cooperation between the new Russian Federation and the United States. Following the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001, many assumed the resultant War on Terrorism would finally unite the two nations against a common enemy, aligning interests as never before. In some ways cooperation was enhanced, but interests were hardly aligned. The siege of the Beslan middle school in September 2004, a "Russian September 11th," brought renewed hopes for alignment between the two nations against an enemy that knew no bounds. Again, that was not the case. This paper attempts to answer why these events did not foster greater cooperation between the two nations, and how a policy reinterpretation might help to realize such hopes. The paper begins with a review of the broader foreign policies of the United States and Russia and a specific review of each nation's perspectives on the War on Terrorism and on cooperation. It reviews some of the issues Russia has faced during its transition from Soviet rule to more liberal institutions, and it reviews the cooperative efforts between the two nations to date, both bilateral and multilateral. The paper concludes with foreign policy recommendations that are based on the fundamental differences in perception between the two nations. It is believed that by executing foreign policy with a consideration for the unique perspectives of each nation, more effective cooperation in the War on Terrorism and elsewhere can be achieved.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA477122
Entities
People
- Eric A. Beene
- Jeffrey J. Kubiak
- Kyle J. Colton
Organizations
- Air War College