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A Long-Term Russia Strategy for Europe
Back to Containment?
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With the United States appearing to move away from its traditional lead role in deterring Russian power in Europe, the European Union and European capitals need a unified strategy for filling the gaps left by a potential American disengagement from the continent. The Cold War–era strategy of containing the Soviet Union, originally articulated by George Kennan, could prove firm enough to be effective, while flexible enough to maintain European unity in confronting Russian power. This strategy of containment should be updated to reflect the particularities and complexities of the present day and reframed to avoid the pitfalls of its twentieth-century predecessor. Then as now, containment should aim to constrain the projection of Russian power and influence, while avoiding a direct conflict between Russia and the Western alliance.
This paper is the result of research and analysis completed as part of a previous project funded by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. This paper was funded by general support to CSIS.
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Michael Kimmage
Former Senior Associate (Non-resident), Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program
