This chapter analyzes changing United States–Russia relationship since the election of Donald Trump in 2016. It does so through the dual lenses of the “Trump Doctrine” and the “Putin Doctrine” and asks three questions: First, according to Trump and Putin, how ought the international order be structured? Second, how are Trump and Putin challenging the international order? And third, how are they challenging each other? The first two sections introduce the Trump Doctrine as laid out in the first chapter in this volume (Renshon 2020), and then compare/contrast it with the Putin Doctrine. Some key points include Putin’s opposition to US global dominance, his determination to reestablish Russia as a global great power, and his willingness to use any tools possible to achieve those goals. The chapter concludes by presenting policies the United States has adopted, and could adopt, to protect US national interest vis-à-vis the Putin Doctrine.
The Trump and Putin Doctrines: Evolving Great Power Tensions Between the United States and Russia