The Impact of the Cold War Legacy on U.S. - Russia Bilateral Relations

It has been evident that even if the Cold War has ended, the U.S.-Russia bilateral relations could not enjoy a true period of stability. When we define bilateral relations as the harmonization of the foreign policies of two states who have the realities of their own, we see a how this harmonization could not be achieved in U.S.-Russia relations. In the nature of U.S.-Russia relations, we see a model of bilateral relationship that fosters confrontation and rivalry much stronger than harmony and cooperation. To illuminate this, we need to admit that the Cold War legacy has played a determinative role in the emergence of this disharmony. In this legacy, the Cold War past has brought a toughness to this geography which make any harmonization harder and has rendered the emergence of a U.S.-Russia confrontation much easier. Since Cold War victory has signified consolidation of U.S. foreign policy constants(Western Europe, NATO, U.K., Japan, IMF etc.), it was rational on behalf of the United States to base her foreign policy on continuation rather than shift with the expanded NATO and the EU zones. However, no one can doubt that the U.S.- led Cold War victory has created a geopolitical pressure on Russia. Thus, in her quest for a new foreign policy identity in the post-Cold War era, emergence of such a political geography has narrowed Russia’s foreign policy alternatives and consolidated the geopolitical notion in her foreign policy. In other words, Russian foreign policy have not had many alternatives other than building her foreign policy on the Cold War political geography. Therefore, it became impossible for her to escape her Soviet past in order to formulate a foreign policy identity that would suit to her immense size in world politics. Russian foreign policy behavior in Ukraine and Syria conflicts in a sense were the responses to build her foreign policy on her Soviet past. The most dramatic consequence of this Cold War legacy has been, the thinning of the red line between defending Russia’s legitimate national interest and getting into a confrontation with the U.S. To make matters worse, the dynamics of the bilateral relations have already surpassed the wills of the both sides towards each other. As the Cold War legacy has made the conditions easier on behalf of both sides to continue their role as the U.S. status quo power and Soviet Union as the revisionist one, it has made the bilateral relations much easier to get into a confrontation. As long as Russia cannot escape her Soviet past in her foreign policy, it is certain that it will not be possible to reach a stable U.S.-Russia relationship.