RUSSIA'S PRESSURE ON NATO AND ITS RESPONSE DURING THE FULL-SCALE WAR IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article concerns the pressure exerted by Russia on NATO during the full-scale war in Ukraine and the Alliance's response to this pressure. This issue is considered in the theoretical perspective of neoclassical realism, which is to explain the attitude of Russia and NATO. The article poses the following main questions: Why did Russia decide to implement a confrontational policy towards NATO and put so much pressure on it? Is the West effectively balancing the threat from Russia and what are the conditions for successfully and long-term countering its pressure? As a part of the research, interviews with American scientists and experts were conducted and strategic documents of the parties were analyzed. The article argues that domestic-level variables created an opportunity for the Kremlin to implement a confrontational policy towards NATO, but it misjudged the structural variables. NATO's ability to resist pressure from Russia effectively and over the long term will be determined by domestic-level variables of member states. The first section of the article includes embedding the analyzed issues in a theoretical framework and formulating research hypotheses. The second and third sections of the article cover, respectively, a discussion of Russia's pressure on NATO and of the Alliance's reaction to the pressure.