Between Concord and Discord: The U.S.-Russian &quot;Reset&quot; in Congress, 2009-2013

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Geschiedenis (BA)

Dijk, Mats van (2016)

Between Concord and Discord: The U.S.-Russian "Reset" in Congress, 2009-2013

Bachelor thesis | Geschiedenis (BA)

In February 2009, the first Obama administration offered its Russian counterpart a "reset button" to renew U.S.-Russian relations. As we now know, however, this initiative failed to structurally alleviate the lingering strains of Cold War antagonism. This thesis will discuss the role of Congress concerning this matter. This is interesting, firstly, because part of the reset's failure can be explained by Congressional counteracts. Secondly, careful analysis of Congressional hearings will show that there is a much less rigid bipartisan dichotomy concerning U.S.-Russian policy than is often taken for granted. All in all, the reader is granted considerable insight into one of the most complex and most urgent bilateral relations of today.