A major foreign policy issue that the United States must face today is the rise of the multi-polar world -- namely the role of Russia and China in world trade. With Russia coming to play a dominant role in the Middle East by aiding Assad's Syrian forces against ISIS and rebels fighters, the U.S. has a choice to make about how to approach the foreign power. If the U.S. pursues a policy antagonistic to Russia, it could find itself on the losing end of a fight in the Middle East, as Russian missile technology is far advanced and capable of shielding a significant radius. Moreover, outside the Middle East Russia and China have formed a significant relationship -- one that could undermine the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency. If the U.S. pursues a policy of befriending Russia and working with Russia and its partners to establish mutually-beneficial terms of trade and geopolitical policies that benefit all as befits a multi-polar worldview, the results could find the U.S. on the winning end of a constructive relationship with foreign powers. It is this policy paper's recommendations that the U.S. adopt the latter strategy and seek a path towards rapprochement with Russia in an effort to normalize relations, identify mutually-beneficial aims, solidify trade agreements, and secure the world's nations against the spread of terrorism. This policy will enable the U.S. to maintain a dominant role in the globalized world while allowing other nations to play a leadership role as well, as every nation seeks to establish a conduit to prosperity for itself.

Policy Recommendations

The policy recommendations of this paper can be broken down into 3 points:

1) Russia is helping Syria to turn back the advances made by ISIS in the Middle East. For years, the U.S. has sought regime change in Syria, as the PNAC papers show (Donnelly). However, this policy has resulted in numerous casualties and deaths in the Middle East, not to mention untold destruction (Davis). This policy is neither good for business nor good for the security of the nation. With Russia taking the lead in fighting ISIS, the U.S. has seen how effectively the fight against terrorism can be waged when rebel forces are not aided with arms and other material support. The key to battling terrorism in the Middle East is thus to withdraw support from rebel forces attempting to overthrow regimes (Etzioni). The first step in this policy, therefore, is to end all aid to rebel forces in Syria and allow the Russians to assist Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS without external influence from the U.S. This would be viewed as a significant act of encouragement in the eyes of Syria and Russia and would indicate that the U.S. is serious about countering terrorism to the degree that it will stop supporting rebel groups that may or may not later give assistance to ISIS... to take an active approach to normalizing relations with Russia. The first recommendation can be seen as a passive approach -- the U.S. simply backs out of the Middle East in the sense that it stops aiding rebel forces. This recommendation is for an actual discourse to begin with Russia on matters of trade, sanctions, and security. These three issues are vital to a good relationship (Stone, Kuznick). Russia has been hammered by U.S. sanctions over the years mainly for its role in the Crimean affair. However, when one sees that this affair from Russia and Crimea's perspective (after all, Crimea voted to rejoin Russia) rather than from the pro-U.S., regime-changed Ukrainian leaders' perspective, it becomes clear that the sanctions are misguided. The U.S. should accept the results of democratic votes and not try to punish countries for outcomes it perceives to be antithetical to aims that are questionable in the first place. For instance, why has the U.S. taken such a hard line in the Ukraine? The issue is one that has many layers and variables relating to Putin's conflict with Boris Berezhovsky, who is responsible for the coup in Ukraine.
3) Finally, the two leaders of Russia and the U.S. should meet personally to discuss the next steps for the multi-polar world. Once resistance in the Middle East has been removed and the relationship has been normalized (i.e., an end to sanctions), the two powers may meet formally to discuss important matters of trade. The U.S. should play an active role in the multi-polar world, as Russia has asked it to do. Instead of fighting this request, the U.S. should accept it and take the lead in forging this new multi-polar world.

Background and Framing

In order to fully understand the importance of having a working relationship with Russia in the 21st century, it is vital to comprehend the nature of the 21st century's globalized world (Scott). In the 20th century, the U.S. emerged as the dominant power in the world. However, as Russia and China grew and Russia became technologically advanced in terms of missile defense systems, the U.S. has found itself in a unique position. Moreover, Russia and China have declared that they will trade without using the U.S. dollar as a currency in the trade. This isolates the U.S. and weakens its dominant role in world trade. If the U.S. seeks to be not just a competitor but also a leader in the 21st century world, it must set aside differences it has with regimes and adopt a more tolerant position. The multi-polar world is a reality because both Russia and China have asserted themselves all around the world, making alliances in political and economic spheres with countries that are looking to benefit from a relationship with world leaders that is positive for all sides. The zero sum game…