My theory, of course, is that our Russia policy is not actually addressed at Russia, but is simply meant as a distraction in domestic politics: a foreign enemy is always a convenient rallying point for politicians facing difficulties otherwise.
That is certainly my theory on the role of the Georgia problem in current US politics. While the Bush Admin. had their engrossing distraction in Iraq going full tilt they didn't need any problems with Russia. Of course they never gave any credit to Russia for anything, and on the domestic front portrayed their relations with Russia as being due to neo-con policies having cowed Russia into submission.
How has policy towards Russia in Europe correlated with domestic politics prior to 2007? As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
In Denmark, Russia hasn't been a big issue outside the Ukrainian Gas Crisis and the Georgian Crisis, and there the reaction has mostly been plagiarising the Anglo-American line. Oh, and a couple of hard words have been exchanged over Chechen separatists speaking in Denmark, and the Danish refusal to extradite said Chechen separatists to Russia. But that's about it since Putin's first election.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
