Illuminating the Arts-Policy Nexus 

Russia: So, does the US-Russia reset have any future? Yes, if it does not happen to be just another new “détente,” where tactics change but the two countries remain fundamentally opposed to each other. In this case the United States would see Russia as a temporary, instrumental partner to help in Afghanistan and to rein in Iranian nuclear ambitions. On the Russian side, the U.S. would be considered a source of investment in the Russian economy and a part-time partner on some other issues, such as entry into the WTO. Such a tactical alliance is bound to fail—sooner or later. And this is exactly what would happen if the administration espoused the view that the “reset” is merely an instrument to make Russia “bend to the United States.” What both Moscow and Washington need is a deep reconciliation of their national and foreign policy interests in light of the many global issues the world is facing. The “reset,” it should be noted, has at its core something more important than mere foreign-policy calculus, even if some politicians in Moscow and Washington are still not quite aware of the fact that in an age of globalization and interdependence—and in the context of a multipolar world—countries are truly faced with an array of mutual interests. Actually, this is what made Obama’s message, if not actual policies, so lauded around the world. Today both sides have to show that they are ready for a deep reconciliation. If Russia and the United States move along this way, the politics of a “reset” will have a future from which both sides would benefit.