Abstract
This paper examines whether Cold War-style anxiety and paranoia have emerged in the West–Russia relationship since the onset of the Ukraine crisis in 2013. Although the idea that a New Cold War is emerging is repudiated, the possibility that anxiety and paranoia are developing in Eastern Europe is deemed worthy of examination. Using Bronfenbrenner’s ‘mirror image’ theory from the Cold War, the contemporary West–Russia relationship is evaluated through examining the foreign policy discourses of both sides. The evaluation demonstrates that anxiety and paranoia are evident in the relationship which, as during the Cold War, reduces the opportunity for compromise (over Ukraine and Syria) and potentially moves the relationship towards greater competition and conflict.
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Notes
The election of Donald Trump has rasied many questions as to the United States' relationship with Russia, especially given his apparent openness to forging a postivie relationship with Vladimir Putin (not to mention a plethora of allegations against Russia's involvement in aiding the Trump campaign the 2016 election). Although this paper does not consider the developments since the election of Trump, despite some efforts by Trump to thaw the relationship, the United States-Russia relationship has yet to change significantly from what is analysed here.
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Smith, N.R. The re-emergence of a ‘mirror image’ in West–Russia relations?. Int Polit 55, 575–594 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-017-0095-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-017-0095-z