Extended Abstract
Introduction
Relations between Russia and the United States exemplify the geopolitical conflicts among international actors. The United States, guided by its national security strategy, has experienced significant fluctuations in its interactions with Russia across different presidential administrations. In recent decades, numerous governments have published strategic documents to articulate their country's position, role in the contemporary world, and the US government's approach to geopolitical challenges. These documents typically outline objectives, tools, and methods of implementation. The US national security strategy has consistently navigated between isolationist and internationalist perspectives, taking into account stable goals, economic capacity, geographical location, physical security, and the expansion of values. The most recent strategy document, released in 2022, illuminates the complex political, security, commercial, economic, technological, and geopolitical relationships between the US, Russia, and their allies during at least one presidential term. During the Biden administration, the US national security strategy has placed significant emphasis on Russia's geopolitical challenges, its conflict with Ukraine, and the ongoing geopolitical rivalry with the West. This study aims to explore and analyze these geopolitical challenges and competitions between the US and Russia across various dimensions from the perspective of the American national security strategy during the Biden administration. Consequently, the US's heightened concerns regarding Russia's behavior in geostrategic and geopolitical contexts necessitate their inclusion in the national security strategy.
Methodology
This paper tries to analyze the national security strategy of the United States of America during the presidency of Joseph Robin Biden Jr. (known as Joe Biden 2020-2024) with the focus on Russia's geopolitical behavior in the face of geopolitical challenges and competitions in Russia. The research data gathering procedure is based on library findings including American National Security Strategy, 2022, as the focus of research and the American Defense Strategy, 2022, and the NATO Strategy 2022, the Russian National Security Strategy 2021. The method of analysis is based on logic, thinking, and geopolitical arguments. This research benefits from the opinions of experts and experts in the field of geopolitics, national security, and think tanks of the US about strategic documents regarding the geopolitical behavior of this country in the form of the challenger and geopolitical competition of the Russian Federation.
Results and Discussion
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has underscored the pivotal role of geopolitics in shaping global dynamics. This war, rooted in the strategic imperative of safeguarding Russia's territorial integrity and securing its western borders, has persisted, presenting a formidable geopolitical quandary for both the United States and Russia. The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has not only intensified existing geopolitical tensions but has also eroded Russia's influence over the Central Asian ex-Soviet states. Russia's interventionist foreign policy, characterized by geopolitical maneuvering and power plays, has raised concerns among key global players such as the United States, the European Union, and Asia. Central to Russia's geopolitical strategy is its adept utilization of energy geopolitics as a tool of influence, particularly in the European economic domain. As the world's leading exporter of oil and gas, Russia maintains significant energy ties with various European nations, as well as countries like China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and India when considering coal exports. This energy leverage has positioned Russia as a dominant player in the global energy landscape, granting it substantial geopolitical clout. The strategic documents of both the United States and NATO in 2022 unequivocally identify Russia as a primary threat to Western security and advocate for concerted action against Russian encroachment. According to NATO's strategic assessment, Russia poses a grave danger to the security and stability of the Atlantic region, with ambitions to disrupt the Eastern, Southern, and Northern NATO member states. One of the important challenges that have been addressed in the national security strategy of the United States is the interference of Russia and other countries opposed to the United States in the internal affairs of this country. American Democrats believe that Russia and its supporters have interfered in the presidential elections of this country in favor of Trump. In this regard, numerous researches and reports have followed for 4 years until 2020. Finally, this issue became clear to the American Congress, and the fact was that through cyber intrusions and assistance to WikiLeaks and various social networks, the Russians were able to have a negative effect. A part of the American national security strategy that is dedicated to supporting Ukraine in the war and after the warm issues such as aid in the continuation of the war, aid in post-war reconstruction, and cooperation with Ukraine to join the European Union are among them. The US National Security Strategy document puts: while some aspects of our approach will depend on the trajectory of the war in Ukraine, a number of elements are already known. First, the United States will continue to support Ukraine in its struggle for freedom, we will help Ukraine to recover economically, and we will encourage its regional integration with the EU.
Conclusions
The American National Security Strategy document presents Russia as an important geopolitical threat that is engaged in the geopolitical challenge, competition, and conflict with the Western bloc led by the United States and seeks to disrupt the international order and rules based on the realization of its geopolitical interests. According to different geopolitics experts, specialists in international relations, and regional studies, Russia's geopolitical behavior in Europe, Eurasia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and in many geopolitical regions of the world depends on how the Russia’s war in Ukraine ends. This war and its end can shape the structure of the global and regional geopolitical system for coming decades and bring the geopolitical competition of the transitioning world closer to relative geopolitical stability. In this document, America's deep concern about Russia's geopolitical behavior in geostrategic territories and geopolitical regions of the world, especially in Europe and Eurasia, is evident. “The geopolitical imperative to reduce our collective dependence on countries like Russia that seek to use energy to threaten and coerce is intensifying,” this document states. The document argues that America and its allies have experienced a global energy crisis caused by the politicization of oil and gas resources controlled by Russia, which has been exacerbated by OPEC. In this strategic document, Russia is considered an immediate and continuous threat and challenge to the regional security order in Europe and is a source of disruption and instability in the geopolitics of the world system. The US national security strategy document and NATO Strategic document and the US defense security document which were written in 2022, Russia is considered a serious threat, challenge, and competitor for the Western bloc and the need to fight against Russia is inevitable.