EVENT RECAP: “Getting Russia Right” by Dr. Thomas Graham

“Getting Russia Right” by Dr. Thomas Graham

With Thomas E. Graham
Moderated by Frank Wisner
October 10, 2023
This program was a George D. Schwab Foreign Policy Briefing

On October 10, 2023, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) hosted Thomas E. Graham, distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, to celebrate his latest book, Getting Russia Right, at the Century Association. In conversation with Ambassador (ret) Frank Wisner, Dr. Graham provided a historical and contextual framework on how and why America’s relationship with Russia was wrongly misguided in its expectations and attitudes.

Dr. Graham has identified three major post-Soviet occurrences that spawned the current challenges between the U.S. and modern Russia. First, a profound mismatch existed between what national progress meant for the Euro-Atlantic Community and that of the former Soviet Republic. Dr. Graham explained that although “the U.S. had the best of intentions” of introducing Russia into a free market liberal economy, the expert community failed to agree and to acknowledge how Russia’s past foreign policy shaped its fraught experience with the West.

The second issue was the inconsistency of U.S. foreign policy that was handed down from administration to administration.  Each American president carried a different portfolio of priorities that often left relations with Russia in worse shape than what was inherited from before. This was not the fault of one single president, but it was more indicative of how America failed to develop a long-term engagement policy. The final misstep was the earnestness of the U.S. to show a “win” in regards to the Cold War. During the 1990s’s optimistic expansion of globalization and later of NATO, U.S. officials hedged on Russia accepting democratic reforms and being more open to neo-liberal ideologies. Despite the overall trend of the period, Russia was never comfortable relinquishing its past political systems or position as a major global power.

Dr. Graham also offered salient remarks on the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin himself.  Dr. Graham contends that although the U.S. and NATO have demonstrated resolve and unity on Ukraine, an exit strategy must be presented to Putin or he will be fixed on destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty. With the absence of such a framework, Russia’s behavior is driving the current narrative on the world stage. Nevertheless, Dr. Graham recommends that Washington should establish channels of confidence with Moscow that are outside of public criticism and away from domestic political scrutiny. Confidential communications could broker a potential ceasefire for Kyiv; to attain this objective, however, the U.S. needs to articulate what it wants from Russia and be ready to deliver on its word.

Getting Russia Right, discloses America’s misguided and frequent hubristic efforts towards Post-Soviet Russia. It helps readers understand how Russia thinks, what brought our relations to this sour juncture, and why Vladimir Putin acts in the manner as he does.

The Honorable Jeffrey R. Shafer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the NCAFP, provided the welcoming and closing remarks for the program. This program was proudly part of the George D. Schwab Foreign Policy Briefing series. Books were available for signing and purchase.