Russia and Global Governance

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.