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It is important to frame U.S.-Russia Relations within the globalization dynamics that have so dominated international relations in the last few decades. First, globalization pressures have made defense of territory for both nation-states very difficult, as pressures from civil wars, the ensuing exodus of refugees, and terrorist actions have made borders that used to be fixed much more permeable. Second, American-Russian relations in the post-Cold War world have included points of tension but also of mutual understanding. American-led expansion of NATO led that alliance to the Russian doorstep, while Russia's harsh wars in Chechnya increased western apprehensions about the intentions of the post-communist leaders in Moscow. The American war in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks brought the two to a point of common understanding, but the American-led Iraq War in 2003 as well as the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 destroyed much of that common base of understanding. Third, the recent political events 2014-2016 are largely highlighted. Each of these case studies pivoted on the new reality that globalization pressures made governance within the two states very difficult.
About the author
James W. Peterson is Professor Emeritus from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia, USA. He is the author of four books to include Russian-American Relations in the Post-Cold War World with Manchester University Press in 2017, American Foreign Policy: Alliance Politics in a Century of War, 1914-2014 with Bloomsbury Press in 2014.
