Russia’s Containment and Engagement Strategies in the U.S. Foreign Policy during the Presidency of G. W. Bush

Abstract

Abstract.Traditionally, Containment and Engagement strategies are considered to be the part of the United States foreign policy during the Cold War. However, recent developments in international relations indicated that these strategies are still relevant to the contemporary foreign policy of the U.S., particularly in the U.S.-Russian relations. Contradictory presidency of George W. Bush has raised a question which of the mentioned foreign policy strategies was dominating in the U.S.-Russian relations. On the one hand, U.S. officials had declared that partnership with Russia was being pursued. On the other hand, the administration of G.W. Bush favored the expansion of NATO and did not surrender the initiative of missile defense shield. This paper intends to assess which foreign policy strategy (Containment or Engagement) dominated in U.S.-Russian relations during the presidency of G.W. Bush and to analyse reasons of such domination and the ways these strategies were implemented. The results of the research indicate that G. W. Bush administration implemented different foreign policy towards Russia on the declared and practical foreign policy levels. If on the official U.S. foreign policy level Russia's engagement strategy dominated, in the U.S. foreign policy practice, particularly influenced by the foreign policy of Russia, and to a lesser extent by the events in the international arena, the dominant foreign policy strategy towards Russia was Russia's containment strategy.Keywords. United States, Russia, Containment Strategy, Engagement Strategy, G. W. Bush, Foreign Policy. IntroductionContainment and Engagement strategies in studies of international relations generally refer to foreign policy strategies, aimed to balance the power of great powers, and to maintain the status quo. According to Hans Morgenthau (Morghentau, 2011, 50), Containment and Engagement are two principle ways to deal with imperialistic goals seeking countries. Containment strategy aims to limit the power of potential adversaries by all means, whereas engagement strategy seeks to change foreign (and domestic) policy of an adversary and to bring it into its sphere of influence using certain incentives. Experts of international relations suggest that Containment and Engagement strategies are 'Grand strategies': the majority of widely known other foreign policy strategies (for example, flexible response; deterrence) are considered to be the sub-types of 'Grand strategies' (Urbelis 2001). Thus, Containment and Engagement are antipodes in their essence (the instruments they apply) but are identical in foreign policy goal they are supposed to help to reach. Traditionally, Containment and Engagement strategies are considered to be the part of the United States foreign policy during the Cold War, when administrations of U.S. presidents actively sought either to restrict the spread of influence of the Soviet Union or to create a dialogue with the Soviet Union in order to maintain the balance of power in favor of the U.S.However, developments in conte...