Russia's containment and engagement strategies in the U.S. foreign policy during the presidency of G. W. Bush

Abstract

Traditionally, containment and engagement strategies are considered part of the United States' foreign policy during the Cold War. However, re- cent developments in international relations indicated that these strategies are still relevant to the contemporary foreign policy of the US, particularly in US-Russian relations. The contradictory presidency of George W. Bush raised questions about which of the mentioned foreign policy strategies dominated in US-Russian relations. On the one hand, US o cials declared that partnership with Russia was being pursued. On the other hand, the administration of G. W. Bush favoured the expansion of NATO and did not surrender the missile defence shield initiative. This paper intends to assess which foreign policy strategy (Containment or Engagement) dominated in US-Russian relations during the presidency of G. W. Bush, as well as to analyse the reasons for such domination and the ways in which these strategies were implemented. The results of the research indicate that G. W. Bush's administration implemented a di erent foreign policy towards Russia on the declared and practical foreign policy levels. If on the o cial US foreign policy level towards Russia an engagement strategy dominated, in practice, particularly in uenced 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 a containment strategy.