Escaping the enlargement trap in NATO-Russian relations

Abstract

In 1999, the Atlantic Alliance asserted its absolute primacy in European security affairs, successfully reversing ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, admitting three new members from Central Europe and unveiling a New Strategic Doctrine. Yet the challenge of Russia's unremitting opposition to NATO remains. This situation is serious not so much because Russia can threaten Western interests directly, but because of the negative impact that continued confrontation with NATO has on Russia's domestic political evolution. For the West to construct a more cooperative and constructive political and security relationship with Russia, other organisations ought to assume greater prominence - most notably the European Union, but also the UN and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is also neither in the West's nor in Russia's interest for NATO to enlarge further eastwards.