Stepping Out of Line: Collected (Nonconformist) Essays on Russian-American Relations, 2008-12 - Paperback

by Gilbert Doctorow (Author)

The nature of Vladimir Putin's Russia and how to deal with it is one of the very rare topics in International Relations where there is virtually no disagreement within the American establishment. In 'Foreign Affairs' and other professional journals, we see that opinion is divided over possible responses to Iran and its nuclear policy. Opinion is divided on managing relations with rising China. Only the Russian case appears to be frozen in time, without any public controversy. That is an unnatural state of affairs. For America's national interests to be properly served, for opportunities to lower the transaction costs of managing global affairs to be properly exploited, there must be rigorous debate over relations with Russia, alongside other major foreign policy challenges. The author of these essays has chosen to 'step out of line' and step up to bat. The Bush administration closed and the Obama administration opened amidst global tensions of a New Cold War with the Kremlin. Notwithstanding 'reset, ' the four years since have failed to bring about a significant rapprochement. 'Stepping Out of Line' is a collection of journalistic reports chronicling the ups and downs in relations; the author's polemical ripostes to leading figures in the American foreign policy establishment over responsibility for the missed opportunity to improve relations; and his scholarly essays on American Russianists from the past who demonstrated that profound knowledge of the object of their studies and sympathy for the country were not always at odds

Author Biography

Gilbert Doctorow is a professional Russia watcher and actor in Russian affairs going back to 1965. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College (1967), a past Fulbright scholar in Moscow, and holder of a Ph.D. with honors in history from Columbia University (1975). After completing his studies, Mr. Doctorow pursued a business career focused on the USSR and Eastern Europe. For twenty-five years he worked for US and European multinationals in marketing and general management with regional responsibility. From 1998-2002, Doctorow served as the Chairman of the Russian Booker Literary Prize in Moscow. A number of his early scholarly articles on Russian constitutional history under Nicholas II drawn from his dissertation remain 'in print' and are available online. Mr. Doctorow has also been an occasional contributor to the Russian language press on issues of Russian cultural and political life. His analytical articles about international affairs appear regularly on the portal of the Belgian daily 'La Libre Belgique.' His monograph 'Great Post-Cold War American Thinkers on International Relations' was published in October, 2010. Mr. Doctorow was a Visiting Scholar of the Harriman Institute, Columbia University during the 2010-2011 academic year. He is an occasional guest lecturer at the St Petersburg State University. Mr. Doctorow is an American citizen and a long-time resident of Brussels, Belgium.