A Strategic Alliance: An Exploration of Israeli-Russian Relations
This paper offers an exploration of various facets of the Israeli-Russian political relationship. The positive relationship between the two states seems unlikely considering each state’s history and strategic alliances, though Israel and Russia have endeavored towards a strong working relationship since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. This paper first explores the history of the relationship between the former Soviet Union/Russia and Israel from the formation of Israel in 1948 to the present day. The historical arc is used in an attempt to explain the development of the current relationship. Next, this paper explains the current status of the relationship, particularly through Vladimir Putin’s leadership of Russia and his diplomatic relationship with Israeli leaders Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu. I then turn to the multiple facets of the strategic alliance, including military, economic, technological, and cultural partnerships. Lastly, this paper summarizes the implications of the Israeli-Russian alliance on Middle Eastern and international geopolitics.
The United States and the Soviet Union in the Middle East
The relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in the Middle East was governed for more than four decades, from the end of World War II to the end of the Reagan presidency, by the Cold War with all of the attendant assumptions, concepts, institutions and policies essential to "fight" the Cold War. American views of the Soviet Union and of the Soviet bloc, and the policy requirements deriving from that perspective, formed the core of United States foreign and security policy worldwide. Wherever and whenever a policy was framed, and challenges were identified and met, the lens through which the policy was seen had a Soviet filter, with accompanying Cold War assumptions. This was particularly true in the case of the Middle East, which became a major venue of United States-Soviet Union competition soon after the Cold War began. Over the course of more than four decades, the competition and rivalry of the superpowers in the Middle East was a central if not dominant theme in international relations.
Negotiating the cultural and economic outcomes of sport heritage attractions: the case of the National Baseball Hall of Fame
ABSTRACT Contemporary museums must balance their roles as commercial entities and repositories of various, and often dissonant, heritages and histories. Sports museums in particular often have clear commercial and nostalgic aims, particularly through tourist visitation, though the extent to which they represent more challenging narratives remains unclear. This paper examines how one of the most famous sports museums in the world, the National Baseball Hall of Fame (NBHF) in Cooperstown, New York, balances its dual role as tourist attraction and repository of baseball's sometimes checkered past. It was found that different sections of the museum provide greater or lesser degrees of engagement with more controversial issues, although the commercial outputs and appeal of the museum remains clear throughout. Utlimately, the NBHF demonstrates that balancing veneration and critique in collections can be commercially prosperous, and can provide a template for other sport and popular culture museums who may be wary of incorporating more challenging narratives in their exhibits. Furthermore, the symbiotic relationship between the Hall of Fame and the village of Cooperstown, particularly in creating and maintaining cultural and economic outputs, requires further exploration.