Russia and NATO: From Strategic Partnership to Strategic Competition

The Collapse of the bipolar international system in 1991, made NATO’s philosophy of existence face some serious challenges. Providing some new interpretation of its role such as global energy security provision, overcoming terrorist activities threats, supporting human rights and democracy as well as combating cyber attacks, NATO managed to survive in post cold war era. Russia has been in opposition to NATO’s expansion in its influence area and considers NATO’s measures in this region as a menace to its national security. Against this background, Russia is known as a potential superpower that can resist against NATO’s military and security policies in many western studies. In this regard, Russia and NATO’s relation during the post cold war era has experienced a wide evolving spectrum from partnership to competition.
The present literature scrutinizes the partnership and competition trends in Russia and NATO’s relation during Putin’s governance. The following question is addressed in this article: What trend has been developed by partnership and competition between Russia and NATO? In order to find an answer for the mentioned question, the following hypothesis is being examined that with Putin’s rise to power and his attempt for revivng Russia’s lost position in international system, the competition elements between Russia and NATO were raised upward; so that their relation has reached to its lowest degree today since the collapse of the USSR. The present article is written using explanatory – analyzing research method in a constructivist theoretical framework.