NATO and Russia: A perpetual new beginning

Abstract

After a brief period of positive relationsbetween Russia and NATO in the early 1990s,a whole series of crises in relations have led to ageneral deterioration of the relationship. Thesecrises have resulted from two very differentconceptions of self-identity and of the futureof security in Europe. Although the divisionsbecame evident already in before the turn ofthe millennium, the policies of Presidents Putinand Medvedev aimed at rebuilding Russia’srole as a great power contributed further to thedivisions. Three areas of NATO policy havebeen central to Russia’s growing opposition toNATO- expansion eastward, the development of a missile shield, and the globalization ofNATO’s involvement. Prospects for a realreconciliation between Russia and NATO arenot positive.