The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century - Hardcover

Stent, Angela E.

 
9780691152974: The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0691152977 ISBN 13: 9780691152974
Verlag: Princeton University Press, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

A gripping account of U.S.-Russian relations since the end of the Soviet Union

The Limits of Partnership offers a riveting narrative on U.S.-Russian relations since the Soviet collapse and on the challenges ahead. It reflects the unique perspective of an insider who is also recognized as a leading expert on this troubled relationship. American presidents have repeatedly attempted to forge a strong and productive partnership only to be held hostage to the deep mistrust born of the Cold War. For the United States, Russia remains a priority because of its nuclear weapons arsenal, its strategic location bordering Europe and Asia, and its ability to support—or thwart—American interests. Why has it been so difficult to move the relationship forward? What are the prospects for doing so in the future? Is the effort doomed to fail again and again?

Angela Stent served as an adviser on Russia under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and maintains close ties with key policymakers in both countries. Here, she argues that the same contentious issues—terrorism, missile defense, Iran, nuclear proliferation, Afghanistan, the former Soviet space, the greater Middle East—have been in every president's inbox, Democrat and Republican alike, since the collapse of the USSR. Stent vividly describes how Clinton and Bush sought inroads with Russia and staked much on their personal ties to Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin—only to leave office with relations at a low point—and how Barack Obama managed to restore ties only to see them undermined by a Putin regime resentful of American dominance and determined to restore Russia's great power status.

The Limits of Partnership calls for a fundamental reassessment of the principles and practices that drive U.S.-Russian relations, and offers a path forward to meet the urgent challenges facing both countries.

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Angela E. Stent is professor of government and foreign service and director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies at Georgetown University. Her books include Russia and Germany Reborn: Unification, the Soviet Collapse, and the New Europe (Princeton).

Von der hinteren Coverseite

"Drawing on her depth of knowledge as a Russia scholar and sharp insights gained as an intelligence analyst, Angela Stent has written a page-turning book about U.S.-Russian relations since the end of the Cold War. A must-read for anyone engaged in the study or practice of this critical bilateral relationship."--John Negroponte, former U.S. deputy secretary of state

"Angela Stent has written a comprehensive, thoughtful, and tremendously useful study of post-Cold War relations between Russia and the United States. She uses interviews with key actors in Russia and the United States and a host of other fresh sources to examine the unpredictable ups and downs of what remains the most important bilateral relationship in international relations in the twenty-first century. This is a must-read for anyone concerned about global affairs now and in the future."--Kathryn Stoner, Stanford University

"Angela Stent has done the seemingly impossible: from the maelstrom of the past two decades she's distilled the essence of modern Russia and its complex relations with the United States. The Obama administration's 'reset,' she says, isn't new; there have been four 'resets' in this relationship, by Democratic and Republican administrations, with mixed results. Using her extraordinary decades-long experience as scholar and government insider, along with her trenchant analysis of what makes Russia's foreign and domestic policy tick, Stent explains what has worked, what has not--and why. The U.S.-Russian relationship will remain a limited partnership, she predicts, until the bonds of Cold War thinking--on both sides--can be broken."--Jill Dougherty, CNN's foreign affairs correspondent

"This is the first book to cover the full sweep and complexity of U.S.-Russian relations since the end of the Cold War. It is likely to remain the best work on the subject for a long time to come. Stent brings to the saga a narrative verve and personal knowledge of many of the main characters, amassed in her distinguished career as a scholar and government official. A triumph and a major contribution."--Strobe Talbott, Brookings Institution

"The Limits of Partnership offers a comprehensive overview of U.S.-Russian relations since the collapse of the Soviet Union. I know of no other book that explains why the post-Soviet bilateral relationship has never lived up to expectations."--Fiona Hill, Brookings Institution

"Stent's argument is richly developed, covering a wide swath of the U.S.-Russian bilateral policy agenda and buttressed by a great deal of historical detail, at least some of which will be new to most readers.The Limits of Partnership is clearly the product of assiduous research, and profits as well from Stent's personal experience in the politics of U.S. policymaking toward Russia."--Robert C. Nurick, Atlantic Council

Aus dem Klappentext

"Drawing on her depth of knowledge as a Russia scholar and sharp insights gained as an intelligence analyst, Angela Stent has written a page-turning book about U.S.-Russian relations since the end of the Cold War. A must-read for anyone engaged in the study or practice of this critical bilateral relationship."--John Negroponte, former U.S. deputy secretary of state

"Angela Stent has written a comprehensive, thoughtful, and tremendously useful study of post-Cold War relations between Russia and the United States. She uses interviews with key actors in Russia and the United States and a host of other fresh sources to examine the unpredictable ups and downs of what remains the most important bilateral relationship in international relations in the twenty-first century. This is a must-read for anyone concerned about global affairs now and in the future."--Kathryn Stoner, Stanford University

"Angela Stent has done the seemingly impossible: from the maelstrom of the past two decades she's distilled the essence of modern Russia and its complex relations with the United States. The Obama administration's 'reset,' she says, isn't new; there have been four 'resets' in this relationship, by Democratic and Republican administrations, with mixed results. Using her extraordinary decades-long experience as scholar and government insider, along with her trenchant analysis of what makes Russia's foreign and domestic policy tick, Stent explains what has worked, what has not--and why. The U.S.-Russian relationship will remain a limited partnership, she predicts, until the bonds of Cold War thinking--on both sides--can be broken."--Jill Dougherty, CNN's foreign affairs correspondent

"This is the first book to cover the full sweep and complexity of U.S.-Russian relations since the end of the Cold War. It is likely to remain the best work on the subject for a long time to come. Stent brings to the saga a narrative verve and personal knowledge of many of the main characters, amassed in her distinguished career as a scholar and government official. A triumph and a major contribution."--Strobe Talbott, Brookings Institution

"The Limits of Partnership offers a comprehensive overview of U.S.-Russian relations since the collapse of the Soviet Union. I know of no other book that explains why the post-Soviet bilateral relationship has never lived up to expectations."--Fiona Hill, Brookings Institution

"Stent's argument is richly developed, covering a wide swath of the U.S.-Russian bilateral policy agenda and buttressed by a great deal of historical detail, at least some of which will be new to most readers.The Limits of Partnership is clearly the product of assiduous research, and profits as well from Stent's personal experience in the politics of U.S. policymaking toward Russia."--Robert C. Nurick, Atlantic Council

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

The Limits of Partnership

U.S.-RUSSIAN RELATIONS in the TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

By Angela E. Stent

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 2014 Angela E. Stent
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-15297-4

Contents

Introduction...............................................................ix
List of Acronyms...........................................................xvii
Prologue George H. W. Bush and Russia Reborn..............................1
Chapter One The Bill and Boris Show.......................................13
Chapter Two Rethinking Euro-Atlantic Security.............................35
Chapter Three Bush and Putin in the Age of Terror.........................49
Chapter Four The Iraq War.................................................82
Chapter Five The Color Revolutions........................................97
Illustrations following page 123...........................................
Chapter Six The Munich Speech.............................................135
Chapter Seven From Kosovo to Georgia: Things Fall Apart...................159
Chapter Eight Economics and Energy: The Stakeholder Challenge.............177
Chapter Nine Reset or Overload? The Obama Initiative......................211
Chapter Ten From Berlin to Damascus: Disagreements Old and New............235
Chapter Eleven The Limits of Partnership..................................255
Acknowledgments............................................................275
List of Interviewees.......................................................279
Chronology of Major Events in U.S.-Russian Relations.......................283
Notes......................................................................293
Bibliography...............................................................321
Credits for Illustration Section...........................................327
Index......................................................................329


CHAPTER 1

The Bill and Boris Show


Shortly before taking the oath of office in January 1993, Bill Clintondeclared that what was happening in Russia was "the biggest andtoughest thing out there. It's not just the end of communism, the end ofthe cold war. That's what's over and done with. There's also stuff starting–stuffthat's new. Figuring out what it is, how we work with it, how wekeep it moving in the right direction: that's what we've got to do."Indeed, the challenge of supporting Russia's postcommunist transitionand defining its new international role consumed much of the Clintonadministration's foreign policy energy during its eight years in office.Along the way, the intense and often turbulent personal ties betweenthe American and Russian presidents came to define U.S.-Russian ties.

The Clinton administration initially raised high expectations aboutre-creating the U.S.-Russian relationship in what became the second—andmore ambitious—reset since the Soviet collapse. By the end of Clinton'stwo terms, however, these expectations had not been met. Theyprobably could never have been. It became clear that the relationshipwas, at best, a selective partnership, where cooperation and competitioncoexisted, albeit in fluctuating proportions. Whatever happened,Russia would not evolve as a Western-style democracy, and Americaninfluence on Russia's internal evolution would be circumscribed.

The bilateral framework that was established in these years has inmany ways defined how Washington and Moscow have dealt with eachother ever since then, in both process and substance. Many of the issuesover which Clinton and Yeltsin sparred remain problematic today.Indeed, there has been far more continuity in U.S.-Russian relationsover the past two decades than either Democrats or Republicans mightadmit. That is because, as an official who served in the administrationsof Bush 41 and 43 noted, "You can't choose your inbox."

Nevertheless, the outcome of Clinton's policies is still hotly debated.Did the Clinton administration play a major role in bringing democracyand the market to Russia? Or did it, as the Republicans (supportedby some on the left) claimed in 2000, "fail the Russian people" andturn a blind eye as the system became increasingly corrupt? ShouldWashington have promoted less "shock" and more "therapy" for theeconomy, as Clinton's chief Russia advisor and former deputy secretaryof state Strobe Talbott himself at one point suggested? Was it right toenlarge NATO to include Russia's former Warsaw Pact allies and theBaltic states? Should the United States have focused instead on designinga post– Cold War Euro-Atlantic security system that included Russia?Could that have even been done?


"THE RUSSIA HAND"

Bill Clinton seized the unique opportunity to reshape the landscape ofU.S.-Russian relations when he entered the White House. It became oneof the defining themes of his eight years in office, a relationship besetby constant challenges, yet one in which, despite all the controversy,there were notable achievements. As Strobe Talbott writes, the presidentquickly became "the U.S. government's principal Russia hand"and remained so for the rest of his presidency. Clinton appointed ateam of expert advisors on Russia led by his Rhodes Scholar roommateTalbott, whose knowledge of Russia and its culture was extensive—andto whom Clinton had served tea in their Oxford digs while Talbott wastranslating the memoirs of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Talbottpersuaded the secretary of state–designate, Warren Christopher, tocreate a special office that dealt with the post-Soviet states (minus theBaltics) in order to ensure that they received the attention they needed,and he became the first ambassador-at-large for the Newly IndependentStates (S/NIS). Previously, the Soviet Union had been part of theState Department's European Bureau.

Moreover, the new administration came into office promoting aliberal-internationalist view of foreign policy, one that held that themore democracies there were, the safer the world would be. This requiredan active U.S. commitment to influencing Russia's domestictransformation. The Clinton administration adopted a far more interventionistpolicy than did the preceding Bush administration because itbelieved that Russia's domestic democratic evolution was a prerequisitefor a more benign foreign policy. In a 1993 speech on Russia at theNaval Academy in Annapolis, Clinton set out the basic premise. Hecalled for a "strategic alliance with Russian reform," warning that "thedanger is clear if Russia's reforms turn sour—if it reverts to authoritarianismor disintegrates into chaos. The world cannot afford the strife ofthe former Yugoslavia replicated in a nation as big as Russia, spanningeleven time zones with an armed arsenal of nuclear weapons."

The defining idea behind the Clinton policy was that democracies donot go to war with each other. Hence it was imperative for the UnitedStates to do as much as it could to nurture the growth of Russian democracy.Moreover, economic and...

„Über diesen Titel“ kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Verlag
Princeton University Press
Erscheinungsdatum
2014
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0691152977
ISBN 13 
9780691152974
Einband
Gebundene Ausgabe
Anzahl der Seiten
355
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar

Weitere beliebte Ausgaben desselben Titels

9780691165868: The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century

Vorgestellte Ausgabe

ISBN 10:  0691165866 ISBN 13:  9780691165868
Verlag: Princeton University Press, 2015
Softcover