The East-West Division in Europe as a Challenge to Global Security

Trapara, Vladimir (2015) The East-West Division in Europe as a Challenge to Global Security. In: Proceedings of Round Table Conference Major International Issues in the 21st Century from a Perspective of Japan and Europe. Global Resource Management Program, Doshisha University ; Institute of International Politics and Economics, Kyoto ; Belgrade, pp. 109-119. ISBN 978-86-7067-211-6

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Abstract

The East-West division in Europe is a very old phenomenon. In contemporary international relations it is manifested as geopolitical trench between the Euro-Atlantic community (led by the United States) and Russia – the only remaining traditional European great power. The aim of this presentation is to explain sources of this division, and to point to its consequences for wider global security. The essence of this division is in post-Cold War U.S. efforts to achieve European (and later global) hegemony, and Russia’s resolve to resist this and defend its independence and great power status. There are multiple causes of such U.S. expansionist policy: overall distribution of power in the international system, American national identity and interest, and prevailing ideas of Washington’s ruling elite. The crisis in Ukraine deepened this division, pushing the world close to another global conflict. The only long-lasting solution to this problem could be basic transformation of U.S. foreign policy, in the direction of abandoning the strategic goal of ruling the world.

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