U.S. Can’t Let Russia Create a Sphere of Influence
The Ukraine crisis strikes at the heart of a 200-year-old pillar of American foreign policy.
Empire builder.
Photographer: Alexei Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images
The current showdown between Russia and the West is deeply perplexing to many critics of American foreign policy. Why, they ask, doesn’t the U.S. simply accede to some of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands — acknowledge that Ukraine will never join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and accept a Russian sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union?
The answer is more deeply rooted in American history than many observers might realize. For better or worse, U.S. policy has long been characterized by opposition to hostile spheres of influence. That project reached triumphant heights during the post-Cold War era, but is being tested severely today.