Articles

The Sources of Russian Conduct

August 15, 2022 Ilan I. Berman Journal of Policy & Strategy

Some three-quarters of a century after Kennan’s “long telegram,” the United States—and the West more broadly—has little understanding of the ideological constructs and strategic principles animating contemporary Russian decision-making. In the absence of such awareness, successive governments have fallen short in anticipating Russia’s post-Cold War foreign policy maneuvers. They have likewise floundered in formulating a cogent response to them.