[Deb Palmieri on Russia Table of Contents]
The following article was published in the Russian Commerce News, October-November 1997. The Russian Commerce News is the official publication of The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce®. |
Baby-Boomer Generation Challenged to Craft Innovative Russian Policy for New Millennium
As we approach 1998 and the next millennium beyond, the nagging thought plagues me that on the most basic of foreign policy issues, we are still looking at new Russia through the old lens of Cold War mindsets, assumptions and prejudices. Instinctively, I sense brewing frustration and resentment from American and Russian decisionmakers - despite superficial politeness - over issues ranging from MIR space cooperation, freedom of religion, lingering trade barriers (e.g. export controls and Jackson-Vanik), Caspian Sea oil pipeline control and NATO expansion. It's not that the Clinton administration shouldn't be admired for its Russian policy - it's kept us on a smooth footing during a critical juncture while Russia wrangled with the darkest and most difficult days of reformation. But recent points of friction prompt us to at least pose the question: has our national policy towards Russia gone far or deep enough, and is it sound enough to carry us into the next century maximally benefiting both parties? Or is our policy towards Russia still fundamentally rooted in the Cold War past, driven by fifties thinking based on suspicion, mistrust, hostility and misperception?
Many Washington politicians, for example, still think that all the blood, sweat and tears and gut-wrenching Russian transformations are just a window dressing and communism or extreme nationalism lurk to appear anytime, momentarily. On this premise and distrust towards Russia, the American public will soon be called upon to finance NATO expansion to the tune of trillions from our national budget. If we disagree with the Russians, over an internal domestic matter, say, their will to pass legislation restricting fringe religious sects (e.g. Heaven's Gate, Branch Davidians, Moonies) from operating in the country (all major religions such as Russian Orthodoxy, Judaism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism and Islam are unaffected) we rebuke them, and think it perfectly natural to reprimand with words of condemnation, threats of economic sanctions and so on. (Could it really be a bad thing that Russians want to prevent scenarios like the siege at Waco, the Jonestown massacre or mass suicides by cultists expecting to clone onto alleged spacecraft tailing the Hale Bopp comet?) When we jockey over regional power and influence, say, over oil in the Caspian Sea region, we counter "hegemonistic intentions" to Russian assertions of national interests.
No easy solutions exist to solve these tough dilemmas and challenges. But a couple of things are clear. One is that the most pressing national challenge we face in the foreign policy arena now and in the future is to craft and define the best possible long-term foreign policy strategy towards Russia. This pressing imperative requires a fresh analytical and conceptual framework, with a clear set of operating premises, assumptions and objectives. It involves honestly answering a simple and basic question. Is Russia fundamentally our friend or foe? Do we trust Russia enough to genuinely bring her into the family of Western nations, which means full integration into existing economic and security institutions? It probably means also rethinking the basic structure of old post-war institutions, like NATO, and recreating them to better accommodate new realities and changed circumstances.
Another thing that's clear is that America's business community could stand to lose a lot of economic ground if Washington politicians use issues like disapproval over religious restrictions to impose sanctions or otherwise impede capital flows. We cannot allow the earlier model of "interventive economics" to punish "incorrect political thinking" and force this country's investors and traders into a "stop and start" "on again/off-again" pattern of business conduct. Under our current mindset towards Russia, even minor, let alone major points of friction can potentially produce negative economic consequences for both sides.
American politicians would do well to emulate the philosophy of American industry spearheaded primarily by baby boomer executives. To survive and maintain a competitive edge, companies retain only the most advanced, innovative, state-of-the-art and imaginative growth and development strategies. Our industry moguls and entrepreneurs endured painful downsizing and reorganization, only to emerge with the healthiest U.S. economy ever.
To compete and win, would companies market telephones from the fifties, aerospace technology from the sixties or computers from the seventies? The answer is evident. By contrast, today's Russian policy is still basically rooted in fifties thinking. But this is not an adequate or reproducible model for the future.
If we have learned anything from the 20th century, it's that we don't want to repeat mistaken assumptions and misperceptions which unnecessarily fueled military competition, hostility and conflict between the superpowers. The assumptions, for example, behind the containment doctrine pegged the Soviet Union as an aggressive expansionist threat. Does Russia still fall into this category today? At this juncture, we need to decide one way or the other.
Now is the time to soul search and put our Russian policy on the right footing for the coming millennium. Based on an accurate pulse reading of Russia's future path of development, the boomer generation, with no political axes to grind or weighty chips-on-the-shoulder to heave forward, must rise to the challenge of garnishing foresight and vision to craft our new Russian policy for the next century. If we stumble, the wrath of our policy failure and missed opportunity to forge a genuine and long-term partnership with new Russia could cost us, our children and grandchildren dearly.
Deborah Anne Palmieri
Russian Commerce News, September-October 1997
Copyright 1999 The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce®
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