A panel of five scholars gathered on Monday afternoon to discuss U.S.-Russian policy in light of the recent war in Georgia and Kosovo's declaration of independence earlier this year. The forum, entitled "Georgia and Kosovo: A New Cold War," sought to answer a wide range of questions concerning the deterioration of American relations with Russia.
Despite inclement weather, nearly 100 students and faculty came to MacMillan 117 for the forum, which marked the start of the Watson Institute for International Studies' project on Nuclear Dilemmas in the 21st Century.
Panel members spoke at length about NATO and the meaning of self-determination for states as it relates to Kosovar independence. They agreed that relations between the United States and Russia are deteriorating.
Though the forum was not explicitly concerned with nuclear weapons, Nina Tannenwald, one of the co-leaders of the project and the forum's moderator, said before the event that nuclear issues would inevitably come up because the forum concerned U.S. and Russian relations.
After Tannenwald introduced the panel, each member spoke about different aspects of the conflict in Georgia and Kosovo's recent declaration of independence.
"I want to start by saying that whatever happens between Russia and the European nations and the United States, whatever it may be, it will not be a cold war," said Abbott Gleason, adjunct professor at the Watson Institute and a professor emeritus of Russian history.
Douglas Blum, professor of international relations at Providence College and adjunct professor of International Relations at the Watson Institute, spoke about the historical basis for current Russian military action in Georgia. He said that this action reestablished Russia as a world superpower, putting "the United States right back in its place."
Catherine McArdle Kelleher, a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute, discussed the recent problems facing Russia.
She said Russia is particularly important because of the upcoming presidential election in the U.S. The increasing tensions on Russia's southern border and NATO's expansion are "the political stew that will confront the new American president," Kelleher said, drawing the discussion back to the U.S.
Nikolas Gvosdev, a professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College, also shared arguments for and against the inclusion of Georgia in NATO. Though he said that the United States was in favor of including Georgia in the alliance, he also claimed that the assumption that the U.S. can unilaterally add members to the alliance no longer holds.
NATO is in for "a very tough season ahead as it tries to figure out what its purpose is," he said, referring to the controversy over whether to include more Eastern European countries like Ukraine.
The panel also answered questions from the audience regarding Russian economic interests, Israeli-Russian relations and whether recognition of Kosovo's independence will have a domino effect in the region, among other issues.
"We have learned now that spheres of influence are not dead. At the same time, claims of self-determination may be reinvigorated," Tannenwald said at the end of the forum as the audience loudly applauded the panel.
After the forum, Anna Matejcek '12, who is from the Czech Republic, said she wished "that the speakers had more different views," though she also praised the panel for focusing on the increasing tension rather than on a potential cold war.
Tannenwald said before the event that the Nuclear Dilemmas in the 21st Century project - a joint effort between Tannenwald, Kelleher and Senior Fellow in International Studies Sue Eckert - would attempt to reexamine the current nuclear world order.
The leaders hope to offer courses, public lectures, conferences and films in order to educate the community about the future course of nuclear proliferation.
"I don't think it's going to be a return of the old Cold War, but we're in a moment when the United States has not been paying as much attention to Russia and Russian interests as possibly it should have," Tannenwald said.
"And so I think there's a whole set of questions about what the future of U.S. relations with Russia is going to be," she added.
She added that forums like this serve to inform the public about the effects of U.S.-Russian relations on foreign matters including energy policy and self-determination of states.
