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Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

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Today, in fact, <strong>on</strong>ly the nuclear umbrella can provide<br />

Russia with a stable peaceful envir<strong>on</strong>ment allowing it<br />

to c<strong>on</strong>duct <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> successfully finish the process of internal<br />

reforms in the state <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> in the armed forces, in<br />

particular. Besides, nuclear weap<strong>on</strong>s provide a high<br />

internati<strong>on</strong>al status for our country, justify its membership<br />

in the United Nati<strong>on</strong>s (UN) Security Council,<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> allow us to define the rules of the game in the<br />

nuclear sphere. 11<br />

Indeed, Russia still dem<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s to be treated as a superpower,<br />

acting <strong>on</strong> its own as equal to <str<strong>on</strong>g>NATO</str<strong>on</strong>g>, declaring<br />

z<strong>on</strong>es of special privileged interests, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> organizing<br />

security alliances. This great power pose is central<br />

to modern Russia’s nati<strong>on</strong>al identity <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> is unlikely to<br />

be relinquished any time so<strong>on</strong>. It works against possible<br />

disintegrative processes in the federati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

acts as a glue to hold the nati<strong>on</strong>al ethos intact.<br />

Such percepti<strong>on</strong>s <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> prejudices make Russian experts<br />

very suspicious of American proposals, which<br />

they traditi<strong>on</strong>ally interpret as attempts to undermine<br />

the Russian state. Russians are very much worried by<br />

the thought that America wants to be the <strong>on</strong>ly military<br />

superpower capable of delivering an unpunished<br />

strike against Russia or any other opp<strong>on</strong>ent. They<br />

suspect that the true U.S. <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>NATO</str<strong>on</strong>g> intenti<strong>on</strong> behind<br />

proposals for nuclear disarmament is to achieve global<br />

hegem<strong>on</strong>y for themselves:<br />

On the surface, the first versi<strong>on</strong> of the U.S. motivati<strong>on</strong><br />

is its desire to broaden the possibilities for external instituti<strong>on</strong>al<br />

c<strong>on</strong>trol over Russia. It means the focused<br />

limitati<strong>on</strong> of the range of Russia’s possible resp<strong>on</strong>ses<br />

to global processes, including via destabilizing events<br />

in the military-political sphere. Such limitati<strong>on</strong> may be<br />

realized by entrapping Russia into a system of internati<strong>on</strong>al<br />

agreements that channelize the processes in the<br />

163

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