politics
U.S. Actions Under Trump Challenge Russia's Approach to International Rules
An article in Foreign Affairs argues that Russia's strategy of defying international norms while expecting the United States to adhere to them has been undermined as the U.S. adopts a similar approach. The piece states that President Trump has withdrawn from multiple UN agencies, reduced their funding, and used military force against Iran and Venezuela.
May 9, 4:26 AM·3m read1 source
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has pursued a strategy of resisting what Russia calls a Western-dominated rules-based international order while seeking to maintain leverage within its institutions. The 2022 invasion of Ukraine represented the peak of a long turn toward revisionism, according to an article published by Foreign Affairs on May 7, 2026.
Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has sought to shape Europe's security architecture, influence smaller neighbors, and clash with the United States and Europe in multilateral bodies including the United Nations. Russian leaders have condemned the rules-based order as a tool to maintain U.S. hegemony.
The country positioned itself as promoting a multipolar world in which it could increase its global clout without being bound by restraints. The article states that Russia now finds itself in a position where the United States is behaving more like Russia.
The United States has withdrawn from dozens of UN agencies, stripped them of funding, and launched a rival body called the Board of Peace. Trump has also asserted a right to coerce smaller countries. While this alignment may appear advantageous on the surface, the article reports that in the long term it may harm Russian interests.
Strategy Relied on U.S.
The approach depended on Moscow freeing itself from rules while pressing Washington to remain bound by them. Russia has criticized legacy international institutions but relied on them for leverage. It has used its veto power on the UN Security Council to wield influence.
The article reports that Trump's actions now threaten to dilute that power. Russia has channeled resistance to U.S. primacy into disagreements over treaties and institutions. In a 2007 speech in Munich, Putin criticized the United States for showing disdain for international law and turning the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe into an instrument of foreign policy interests.
