Abstract
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reignited debate over the role of NATO expansion in producing the current crisis. Robert Person and Michael McFaul dismiss Russian President Vladimir Putin’s NATO concerns as a ‘fiction’, arguing that it was actually the expansion of democracy that threatened his autocratic regime. This argument draws a false distinction between trends Russians view as deeply entwined. Democracy and NATO expansion were not separate issues for Putin and the Russian elite, but mutually reinforcing elements of a concerted Western effort to contain Russia’s ambitions as a great power. Putin’s distaste for democracy does not overshadow but rather reinforces his objections to NATO. Because NATO expansion played an important role in producing the invasion, halting that expansion might have persuaded Putin to pursue his goals through less violent means.
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