Leiden University Student Repository

Meijer, Alannah (2020)

Bill Clinton: The Legacy of His Foreign Policy

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

When looking at the relationship between the U.S. and Russia one can see that since the fall of the Soviet Union it has been a tense one. It seems as though both countries have never understood each other, culturally, politically and economically. With the alleged 2016 meddling of Russia in U.S. elections the mistrust towards Russia has risen to an all-time high. This thesis aims to provide an analysis of the Clinton Administration which can be used as lessons for future administrations. First a small overview of the development of the relationship between the U.S. and Russia will be provided. It will then proceed to look at the role of NATO expansion within the development of the relationship between both countries, during the critical time-period after the fall of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the personal relation between President Clinton and Russia, as well as President Yeltsin, will be examined to indicate how Clinton tackled the opportunity of starting to build a solid...Show moreWhen looking at the relationship between the U.S. and Russia one can see that since the fall of the Soviet Union it has been a tense one. It seems as though both countries have never understood each other, culturally, politically and economically. With the alleged 2016 meddling of Russia in U.S. elections the mistrust towards Russia has risen to an all-time high. This thesis aims to provide an analysis of the Clinton Administration which can be used as lessons for future administrations. First a small overview of the development of the relationship between the U.S. and Russia will be provided. It will then proceed to look at the role of NATO expansion within the development of the relationship between both countries, during the critical time-period after the fall of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the personal relation between President Clinton and Russia, as well as President Yeltsin, will be examined to indicate how Clinton tackled the opportunity of starting to build a solid relationship between the U.S. and Russia. By concluding with a case study on Bosnia this thesis aims to show how different interests can lead to a conflicting relationship, leading to the fact that there are still lessons that can be learned from history.Show less

U.S.-Russia Relations

Bill Clinton

NATO

Foreign Policy

Author

Meijer, Alannah

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

International Studies

Supervisors

Heere, Cees

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en