How do liberals, like McFaul, and realists, like Cohen, understand the New Cold War between the US and Russia? How do they understand the US role, and Putin’s foreign policy decision-making, in the New Cold War, differently? Which side do you think provides a stronger explanation for the downturn in US-Russia relations over the past decade or so? Is the new Cold War the result of Russia’s domestic structure of governance under Putin, or is it the result of US and NATO efforts to revise the balance of power against Russian interests? Be clear about the underlying theoretical differences. Make sure to cover the different historical narratives of how the New Cold War developed (eg. McFaul on Yeltsin reforms, the Putin Thermidor, Reset and Pushback; Cohen on the two contradictory strategies of friendship and marginalization). Provide details adn examples. If you have space, extend this analysis to cover the theoretical debates on the nature of the Ukraine Crisis as the key flashpoint of the New Cold War (eg. McFaul vs Mearsheimer). Is the war about values and domestic governance (e.g. democracy vs autocracy) or geopolitics and security?
Essays should be well written and clearly structured. Use many short quotations from the readings. Only draw upon our course materials (readings and PPTS). Use proper paragraphs and grammar. 1200-1500 words, the more the better. Just use citations like this (Cohen, 18). No need for a bibliography.