One of the wrong lessons that U.S. policymakers drew from the events of 1989-1991 was that the U.S. was chiefly responsible for ending and “winning” the Cold War, which inevitably overestimated our government’s capabilities and effectiveness in affecting the political fortunes of other parts of the world.
Vincent Bevins: The ‘Liberal World Order’ Was Built With Blood
As the United States reckons with its decline, it should understand where its power came from in the first place.
Stephen F. Cohen: Inconvenient Truths
The current state of U.S.-Russian relations is unprecedentedly dangerous, not only due to reasons cited here—a new cold war fraught with the possibility of hot war.
Jean Bricmont: The Ideology of Humanitarian Imperialism
There should be a radical reorientation of the left’s priorities in international affairs: far from trying to fix problems in other countries through illegal interventions, it should demand strict respect of international law on the part of Western governments, peaceful cooperation with other countries, in particular Russia, Iran and China, and the dismantling of aggressive military alliances such as NATO.
Jake Johnson: To avoid World War III, Gorbachev says all “nuclear weapons must be destroyed”
“As long as weapons of mass destruction exist, primarily nuclear weapons, the danger is colossal.”
Lyle J.Goldstein: A brazen foray into the Barents yields predictable Cold War-type friction
Instead of celebrating the meeting on the Elbe to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the epochal Allied victory over Nazi Germany, the Pentagon opted to overtly deploy a surface action group, in company with the British Royal Navy, into the Barents Sea in an unprecedented gesture of hostility.
The National Interest: 3 Steps to Reviving the Russian Relationship
It is time to improve relations between Russia and the West with a policy of realism towards Moscow.
Randy Boyagoda: Strategic Long-Term Propaganda
A review of Cold Warriors: Writers Who Waged the Literary Cold War by Duncan White.
Paul Robinson: They’re At It Again…
Those infernal Russians are spreading their interfering tentacles wider and wider. At least, that’s what the Washington Post would have us believe, with a screeching headline this week: ‘Russia has turned its interfering attentions to Africa’.
Robert G. Rabil: Why America Has Misdiagnosed Russia’s Role in Syria
Washington’s reading of the political map of the Middle East is fraught with erroneous assumptions similar to those that predicted the collapse of the Syrian regime during the initial months of the Syrian rebellion.
Mikhail Troitskiy: Statecraft Overachievement: Sources of Scares in U.S.-Russian Relations
A great debate about Russia’s intentions is unfolding.
Hall Gardner: The Coronavirus Is Antagonizing America’s Relationships
While the pandemic appears to be further antagonizing the United States and China, it appears to be pushing Moscow and Beijing even closer together.
Geoff Roberts: Fall of Berlin Wall: Discontent is evident once again, 30 years on
The people’s revolutions of 1989 were not the unalloyed success for the cause of freedom and democracy that was claimed for them at the time, writes Geoffrey Roberts.
Doug Bandow: The U.S. Should Stop Collecting Military Allies Like Facebook Friends
No need to ‘un-friend’ anyone, but some of them should be supplying their own boots and bombs by now.
Lyle J. Goldstein: Did Russia Really Win the War in Syria?
Are Russians, in fact, doing a “victory dance” and laughing at the capricious Americans? Not quite.
Politico: Britain would veto Russia’s return to G-7
The U.K.’s position does not rule out Russian President Vladimir Putin being invited to the summit as a guest.
Reuters: Gorbachev: Don’t build Berlin-style wall between Russia and West
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, has warned against building a new physical or invisible wall between Russia and the West, 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Barbara Boland: Susan Rice Suggests Russians Fomented Floyd Protests, Violence Across U.S.
Obama’s former national security adviser offered no evidence for her bizarre claim.
Patrick Lawrence: A Sudden-Seeming Power Shift in the Middle East
Despite the high-speed impression created by events in the past few weeks, the shifting trends of Russian and U.S. influence on the region have been underway for years.
The National Interest Interviews Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov
TNI editor Jacob Heilbrunn interviews Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov about the New START Treaty and the state of U.S.-Russia relations.