The World is Watching: The American Election and Russia

In an electoral season with no shortage of drama, the recent resignation of Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, brought even more scrutiny to Russia’s intense interest in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Manafort’s past lobbying efforts for pro-Russian elements in Ukraine drew unwanted attention to a Trump campaign already seen as having too many pro-Russia ties. This comes just weeks after the revelation that Hillary Clinton’s campaign had suffered a cybsersecurity breach and that Russian hackers were the likely culprit. The hack on the Democratic National Committee (DNC), if definitively attributed to Russia, could indicate that Moscow is not only interested in the U.S. presidential election, but perhaps even interested in manipulating it. Moscow’s heightened interest in the next president comes at a time of the greatest tension between Russia and the U.S. since the end of the Cold War.

Obama’s first-term relationship with Russia was characterized by an attempt to reset relations in 2009. While the decision did produce cooperation on sanctions against Iran and halted U.S. plans for a missile defense shield in Europe, the reset proved to be ineffective in the long term and has since been overshadowed by deteriorating relations with the Kremlin.