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Rivalry Persistence and the Case of the United States and Russia: From Global Rivalry to Regional Conflict

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Russia’s Coercive Diplomacy

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Abstract

Researchers have noted that a certain group of states account for a disproportionate amount of conflict in the international system.1 These states are rivals, or long-standing enemies, addicted to reducing gains for the other side and apt to challenge the goals of their rival. We now know that rivals are highly dispute prone, experience frequent territorial disputes, and can disrupt international and regional power systems. Despite progress, current theories regarding the termination of rivalries appear incomplete because they ignore domestic factors and the “principal” rivalry concept. Our central premise in this chapter argues that theories of rivalry termination are underdeveloped and fail to account for the settlement of outstanding issues and sources of rivalry persistence at the domestic level of analysis. If both the issues at stake in a rivalry remain unsettled and perceptions continue to be adversarial, the rivalry situation will persist. If the rivalry situation persists, an important context that dictates foreign policy action is in operation. This provides the context for Russia’s use of new foreign policy tactics. Our argument is that the rivalry between Russia and US continues but has shifted in scope and fits with the reduced reliance on conventional forms of power.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Ryan C. Maness (Visiting Fellow of Security and Resilience Studies)

  2. University of Glasgow, UK

    Brandon Valeriano (Senior Lecturer)

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  1. Ryan C. Maness
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  2. Brandon Valeriano
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© 2015 Brandon Valeriano and Ryan C. Maness

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Maness, R.C., Valeriano, B. (2015). Rivalry Persistence and the Case of the United States and Russia: From Global Rivalry to Regional Conflict. In: Russia’s Coercive Diplomacy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137479440_3

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