| Author (Person) | Dobbs, Joseph |
|---|---|
| Publisher | European Leadership Network |
| Series Title | Policy Brief |
| Series Details | January 2018 |
| Publication Date | 29/01/2018 |
| Content Type | Report |
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The European Leadership Network (ELN) works to advance the idea of a cooperative and cohesive Europe and to develop collaborative European capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence and security policy challenges of our time. It does this through its active network of former and emerging European political, military, and diplomatic leaders, through its high-quality research, publications and events, and through its institutional partnerships across Europe, North America, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. The ELN conceives of Europe in its widest sense, to include not only the EU but Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the rest of our diverse continent. It is unique in its high-level political reach and in its ability to effectively network the political, diplomatic and security elites of all countries across this region and parts of Central Asia. It focuses on arms control and political/military issues, including both conventional and nuclear disarmament challenges inside Europe, and has a particular interest in policy challenges arising in both the eastern and southern peripheries of the continent. The ELN also works to advance economic, political, energy, people to people and sub-regional cooperation within Greater Europe and to build cooperative European solutions to today’s global challenges, be they related to Russia-West relations, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, or the challenge and opportunity of the rising powers. It is a non-partisan, non-profit organisation based in London and registered in the United Kingdom.ELN Research Fellow Joseph Dobbs argued in this Policy Brief that policy-makers in Russia and the West must be more aware of the impact that stereotyping has on decision making. 'To stereotype is to be human, and this is as true of diplomats and world leaders as it is the rest of society' wrote Dobbs. Stereotypes, argued Dobbs, can 'worsen pre-existing security dilemmas'. This paper explored three potential stereotypes and oversimplifications in Russia-West relations: + President Putin: 'One common theme in the West is that the Russian president is a ‘master tactician, but a terrible strategist'. This, according to Dobbs, meant that some policy-makers considered Russia’s actions (such as Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine) as reactions to Western decisions and weaknesses, and not as part of a broader strategy. + The expansionist other: Both Russia and the West oversimplify many of the actions of the other as expansionist. For Moscow this explained Western activities in Eastern Europe in the years ahead of the Ukraine crisis as being aimed at pushing Russia out. For the West some view Russia’s behaviour as an attempt to re-establish imperial power. This has pushed both sides to view the other as more aggressive than perhaps was intended. + Mutual weakness: In the eyes of many Russian specialists, Western unity might soon become a thing of the past. Especially, if as some in Russia believe, the European Union is on the verge of collapse. Some in the West believe that, as President Obama once put it, 'Russia is isolated with its economy in tatters'. Such fixed and un-nuanced perceptions of each other’s weakness leads to overconfidence and underestimation of the other side. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ELN-POLICY-BRIEF-JANUARY-2018-THE-RISK-OF-STEREOTYPES-IN-RUSSIA-WEST-RELATIONS.pdf |
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| Countries / Regions | Europe, Russia |
