Why Do Russia and the U.S. Need Each Other?: Foreign Policy and National Identity

Russia and the United States have come into conflict over many international issues. A “war of images” also plays an important role in the current crisis in bilateral relations. Victoria Zhuravleva discussed how anti-Americanism in Russia and anti-Russian sentiments in the U.S. are used in domestic political games, as well as how foreign policy becomes a stage for defining national identity in opposition to images of the “other,” a pattern spanning the U.S.-Russia relationship for over a century.