U.S. Foreign Policy and the Legacy of the Cold War:

Abstract

Since the independence of Ukraine in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United Stateand its European allies made it a priority to incorporate this strategic country into the Western alliance and common military defense. This caused a long and tense dispute with Russia which resisted the increasing US influence in the region and considered Ukraine as its unique natural sphere of influence. The insistence of Ukraine on joining the NATO in 2020, made things more complicated. The tension between the US-led western block and Russia reached its peak when Russia started a large military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. This dissertation traces the rootsof this 2022 Russia-Ukraine war to the time of the Cold War conflict and the disintegration of the Soviet Union with a focus on the US policy regarding the tension over Ukraine.