2017 Joint Area Centers Symposium
Roger Kanet, Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and former Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Director of International Programs and Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Since he came to the presidency  Vladimir Putin and his advisors have emphasized the fact that they do not accept the hegemonic position of the United States in a unipolar international security, political and economic system.  The Russians have work assiduously, and, largely successfully, to challenge that dominance and to contribute to building a multipolar system in which Russia plays a role equal to that of the United States and the European Union.  For Russia, global order should be based on a multipolar system in which a Westphalian sense of sovereignty prevails; the rules for international economic intercourse cannot continue to preference the West; and legitimacy must be based on a system that empowers Russia and other emerging state actors.  In other words, Russia continues to challenge the West-centric order that emerged after the collapse of the former USSR, as its actions of the past decade have increasingly made clear.