Plural Peace
Guiding Principles for a New Russia Policy
Matthias Dembinski, Hans-Joachim Spanger
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Since the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine, relations between Russia and the West have been deeply confrontational. New approaches must be taken in order to avoid a military escalation and guarantee security in Europe. The West should abandon its strategy of “liberal peace”, which since 1990 has focused on an adaptation by Russia to the liberal norms of the West and its integration into Western institutions. Instead, we promote the guiding principle of “plural peace”. We see the way forward as being peace through dissociation. The normative differences with Russia should be acknowledged. A clear delineation is a precondition for creating a new basis for stable cooperation. This entails providing Russia with plausible assurance that Ukraine and other states in the region will not be allowed to join the EU or NATO.
(Osteuropa 3-4/2017, pp. 87–96)