25 November 2009
Russian and American Students Exchange Views on Nonproliferation
Washington — Russian and American students showed that their views are more similar than divergent during a November 12 videoconference that focused on nuclear nonproliferation and Russia-U.S. relations.
While the students offered a range of individual opinions on issues, they agreed that their two countries must continue to reduce nuclear arsenals and work with global organizations to combat the spread of nuclear weapons technology.
Students from George Washington University and Georgetown University — both located in Washington — and the University of St. Petersburg in Russia expressed relief that diplomatic relations between their two countries are stronger than during the Cold War and noted a growing focus on “soft security.”
“The mentality that the more weapons you have, the stronger you are, seems to be a relic of the past,” said Russian student Yekaterina Klimenko through an interpreter. “Rather, the states are diverting their attention to different types of security,” such as environmental and economic security.
Both groups of students also cited the lack of a clear strategy to replace past reliance on nuclear deterrence as the world moves from a bipolar landscape where factions formed around two comparatively equal superpowers to a multipolar world in which there are many centers of power.
“We have seen the flaws in hard power, essentially in arms races. As a result, we’re left with these deterrence strategies that are inconsistent and as a result misleading and ineffective,” said Josh Snider, one of the American students.
The countries that signed the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty should present a unified front in dealing with countries that are trying to develop nuclear weapons, Snider said.
It is also important to work through international organizations such as the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency to detect nuclear testing by countries that want to develop nuclear weapons, the students agreed. Russia supports the ratification of a new treaty to reduce offensive nuclear weapons to replace the expiring Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, Russian student Sergey Tambi said.
Several of the students differed on whether it is acceptable to use force to stop a rogue nation from obtaining nuclear weapons. Some students suggested that in certain limited circumstances, force might be justifiable.
Klimenko maintained that there are better alternatives to force.
“Addressing the underlying factors is also important before they get to the point where they’re going to be looking to acquire a nuclear weapon,” said American student Jonathan Phalen.
Obama’s election gives hope to Russian students — and the Russian population generally — who saw his opponent in the 2008 presidential race, Senator John McCain, as more antagonistic toward Russia, according to Russian student Khursav Rasulov. “The relations of the United States and Russians are going to get better, and the conflicts are going to come down,” Rasulov said in English.
“As an American growing up under the Bush administration and moving to the Obama administration, I’m very relieved to see a warming up, a new dialogue in American-Russian relations,” said American student Jonathan Askonas.
Still, Klimenko said, it is premature to judge the results of the administration’s policies so early in the presidential term.
“They simply haven’t had enough time to demonstrate their abilities and their thinking in the realm of the external policy,” she said. “Currently, the Obama administration is more involved in the internal policy issues. They have to deal with the resolution of the economic crisis.”
Both sides expressed optimism about the dawning of a new, friendlier era in U.S.-Russian relations and said they’d like to continue their dialogue by videoconference in coming months.
The students ended their conversation with a promise to visit again, through e-mail and social-networking platforms. At times, their discussion seemed like it actually could have been among students in a single classroom, in either country.
Young people in Russia and America have been significantly changed by increased communication between the countries, “by global exchanges of all kinds, shapes and form, the possibility of travel, the possibilities of socializing more due to the means of modern communications,” said Russian student Valeriya Nechayeva. “We’re also united by common interests such as music, for example, and trends in fashion.”
Video: Russian and American students on nonproliferation