• Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Europe logoCarnegie lettermark logo
EUDemocracy
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Eugene Rumer"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "russia",
  "programs": [
    "Russia and Eurasia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "Russia",
    "Western Europe"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other

The U.S.-Europe vs. Russia Triangle

Russia’s relations with Europe and the United States are at their worst since the end of the Soviet Union. Yet the biggest challenge facing the West may come from within, not outside, the Western alliance.

Link Copied
By Eugene Rumer
Published on Jul 11, 2018

Source: Istituto Affari Internazionali

Russia’s relations with Europe and the United States are at their worst since the end of the Soviet Union. Russian leaders reject the post-Cold War vision of a Europe whole, free, at peace with itself and its neighbours, view NATO as a threat and increasingly consider the EU as a danger to Russia’s political system. This is unlikely to change soon. The anti-Western worldview of Russia’s national security establishment, the proximity of the NATO-Russia line of contact to the Russian heartland, and Russia’s newly assertive posture in many far-flung regions of the world contribute to an atmosphere of heightened tensions between Russia and Europe and the United States. This, however, may not be the biggest challenge facing the West. In the age of Trump, that challenge may come from within, not outside, the Western alliance.

Read Full Paper

This paper was originally published by Istituto Affari Internazionali.

About the Author

Eugene Rumer
Eugene Rumer

Director and Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program

Rumer, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the U.S. National Intelligence Council, is a senior fellow and the director of Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program.

    Recent Work

  • Q&A
    Russia Will Be More Dangerous After the War with Ukraine
      • Eugene Rumer

      Eugene Rumer

  • Paper
    Belligerent and Beleaguered: Russia After the War with Ukraine
      • Eugene Rumer

      Eugene Rumer

Eugene Rumer
Director and Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program
Eugene Rumer
Foreign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesRussiaWestern Europe

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Why Europe Must Take Charge of its Russia Diplomacy Now

    Trump is distracted and Ukraine wants Europe to step up. The continent’s leaders must find their voice and assert it in talks with Russia.

      Alissa de Carbonnel

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Why Russia Could Escalate Hybrid Warfare Against Europe

    Mounting economic strain and battlefield losses will not necessarily make the Kremlin less dangerous. They could instead push Moscow toward a more aggressive hybrid campaign designed to test NATO’s Eastern flank, exploit allied hesitation, and fracture European resolve.

      Maksym Beznosiuk

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Enough with the Annual NATO Summits, Already?

    Over the past ten years, NATO has held almost as many summits as it did during the entirety of the Cold War. Are they still useful, or is it time to stop holding annual meetings?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European Order
    Report
    Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European Order

    As the EU confronts profound challenges, several leaders have called for fundamental reform to the union’s model—but only modest, superficial changes have resulted. What if Europe really could be reimagined from zero today: What should such a redesigned European order look like?

      Richard Youngs, ed.

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    European Sycophancy Worked on Trump

    Nearly a year and a half after Europeans leaned into sucking up to Trump, the strategy has produced some benefits when it comes to Ukraine.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
Carnegie Europe logo, white
Rue du Congrès, 151000 Brussels, Belgium
  • Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Gender Equality Plan
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.