To Harass and Wait Out: America's Policy Towards Russia

Nearly 70 years ago, George Kennan wrote his famous long telegram, later published as “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” in Foreign Affairs. Kennan’s seminal article integrated material, ideological and historical factors into its analysis, developing a comprehensive and holistic approach to studying the foreign policy of the Soviet Union. Inspired by Kennan’s work, this article outlines the structural, domestic, and ideational sources of contemporary US policy towards Russia. These three factors reinforce a dominant narrative among US policymakers that sees the US as defending the status-quo against Russia’s revisionist challenge to the post-Cold War international order. They shape the US response to this perceived challenge, preventing the US from seeking out an accommodation with Russia, but also discouraging it from immediately and forcefully confronting the “Russian threat”—even though many powerful domestic constituents lobby for this course of action.