U.S.-Russian relations today can be characterized best as pragmatic. But this pragmatism is a very specific one. The partnership between Russia and the United States is driven by expediency rather than principle or ideological interests, and its primary motivation is to enhance state security in the face of mutual threats: international terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Each side recognizes that the two countries are partners, not allies; their partnership is not built on an ideological basis but on the careful calculation of its strategic merits. The United States is a world power assured of achieving its ambitions and goals by its various resources: economic, political, natural, technological, military, and so on. Russia is in fact a junior partner in this relationship, a partner with great potential but limited means to have a real impact. […]
Memo #:
321
Series:
1
PDF:
PDF URL:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/ponars/pm_0321.pdf
