Why the US Misunderstands Russia

Prof. Glenn Diesen with Judge Napolitano

I had the great privilege of speaking with Judge Napolitano about why the US misunderstands Russia. The US tends to conflate Russia with the Soviet Union and thus assumes that conflicts derive from Moscow’s pursuit of security through dominance and empire.

In reality, our conflicts with Russia derive from the failure to establish a mutually acceptable post-Cold War political settlement. We initially had agreements for an inclusive pan-European security architecture based on indivisible security, but this was abandoned in favour of hegemony through NATO expansionism. Many American leaders, such as George Kennan and US Secretary of Defense William Perry, therefore recognised in the 1990s that NATO expansion would betray and undermine the post-Cold War peace. Bloc politics was revived and deeply divided societies in the shared neighbourhood between NATO and Russia became pieces on a chessboard. Pulling Ukraine into NATO’s orbit was the ultimate red line for Moscow as it is considered to be an existential threat to Russia. If we can recognise the security concerns of our adversaries, then we can mitigate the security competition and establish peace.