The West and Russia: New Cold War?

Open seminar hosted by the Institute of International Affairs at the University of Iceland

The West and Russia: New Cold War? New Détente? Managing Rivalry?
In light of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia’s recent intervention in Syria and on-going military tensions, this lecture will explore the dynamics shaping the relationship between the West and Russia and the prospects for a new accommodation between the two. Andrew Cottey will argue that the relationship between the West and Russia is bedevilled by two underlying problems: Russia’s pursuit of a sole sphere of influence in the former Soviet space and the division between a liberal international order and authoritarian states (which pits Russia and China against the West at the global level). These problems cannot be easily overcome. They do not mean that the relationship between the West and Russia will be confrontational in all aspects, but the best that can be hoped for is the management of an inevitably difficult relationship
Andrew Cottey is Senior Lecturer, Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Integration and Head of Department in the Department of Government, University College Cork, Ireland. His publications included Security in 21st Century Europe, 2nd ed. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
Moderator: Alyson Bailes, Adjunct Lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Iceland.

Further information: www.ams.hi.is
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The event will be held in English. Free entrance.