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

He then continues to condemn the predilection
for use of force prevailing at the time (read: Iraq <strong>and</strong>
Afghanistan), notes that trade is exp<strong>and</strong>ing the range
of interdependencies, <strong>and</strong> proclaims that “there is no
reason to doubt that the economic potential of the
new centers of global economic growth [the BRIC nations—Brazil,
Russia, India, China] will inevitably be
converted into political influence <strong>and</strong> will strengthen
multipolarity.” 9
It seems clear that the Russian shift in thinking to
multipolar globalism both reflects new realities <strong>and</strong>
represents the preferred line of Russian foreign policy
today. Even the “reset” in Russian-American relations
is a symbol of that, recognizing as it does the importance
of Russian power to the United States <strong>and</strong> the
consequent need for Russian cooperation in a world
that is quickly becoming multipolar. The new line has
been ratified most recently in the New Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty (START) document <strong>and</strong> also in the
progress of Russia toward membership in the World
Trade Organization (WTO)—which Russia both wants
<strong>and</strong> needs <strong>and</strong> which the United States strongly supports.
The new line also finds Russia arguing strongly
for a multilateral approach to agreements on the reduction
of NSNWs, as we shall see in the latter part
of this chapter. The relative decline of American power
“in which the power resources of other states grow
greater or are used more effectively,” has helped to
advance the new multipolarity <strong>and</strong> interdependence.
This scenario does not reflect the absolute decline of
the U.S., but rather, as Joseph Nye reminds us, “the
loss of ability to use one’s resources effectively.” 10 The
United States is probably stronger than it used to be
just looking at the power resources—both economic
<strong>and</strong> military—that it could bring to bear internation-
180