Russia’s dramatic choice to chop direct diplomatic ties with NATO additional proof that Moscow not cares what the West thinks

Twenty years in the past, President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart, Invoice Clinton, mentioned Russia probably becoming a member of NATO. Now, this week, Moscow has introduced it’s severing its final remaining diplomatic ties with the bloc.

The rapprochement with the West, it appears, is now really lifeless and buried. Russia will withdraw its delegation from Brussels, and can ship house NATO’s mission in Moscow from subsequent month. The row ostensibly comes after the US-led bloc introduced it will expel almost half of Russia’s envoys, reportedly over unsubstantiated allegations of ‘espionage.’

Higher collectively?

One may think that teams would make higher choices than people. The enter of all kinds of views ought to produce wiser outcomes than one individual following his or her biases. Psychologists have, nevertheless, recognized a number of issues with the dynamics of group decision-making that contribute to the alternative consequence. Groupthink, as an illustration, tends to provide conformity by suppressing dissenting factors of view. And the phenomenon of “group polarization” pushes teams in direction of excessive positions.

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With group polarization, units of people undertake extra excessive concepts collectively than every of them would have supported individually earlier than discussions began. The method of dialogue hardens attitudes round extra radical positions, because the extra average members of the group change their opinion with the intention to match what they see to be the consensus. Thus, a research of US judges confirmed that, when making choices alone, they made what have been deemed “excessive” judgements 35% of the time, however when sitting in a panel of three, did so 65% of the time.

All this explains why the Russian Federation has lengthy most popular bilateral relations with particular person international locations moderately than making an attempt to barter offers with teams of them, reminiscent of NATO or the EU. This perspective was confirmed this week by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who remarked that, “It’s in our pursuits that the international locations of Europe prosper, however are all impartial of one another.”

Individually, the US and its European allies are for essentially the most half able to adopting cheap positions in direction of Russia. Put all of them collectively in a room, nevertheless, and all of the sudden they change into all hardline and hostile, as they gravitate in direction of what they really feel is the bottom frequent denominator amongst them. Their particular person self-interest, it appears, is sacrificed to the overall feeling of the group.

It appears that evidently the Russian authorities has now misplaced persistence with the first Western multilateral organizations – the EU and NATO – preferring to bypass them to take care of their particular person member states individually. Thus Russian International Minister Sergey Lavrov declared earlier this 12 months that, “there are presently no relations with the EU as a corporation.”

Tearing up ties

Lavrov’s announcement on Monday that bilateral ties with NATO marks the tip of almost 30 years of direct relations with the bloc, relationship again to the creation in 1994 of the Partnership for Peace program and likewise to Russia’s participation within the 1996 mission in Bosnia, led by the bloc.

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In an effort to return nearer collectively, in 1997 the 2 sides signed the NATO-Russia Founding Act, which created a Everlasting Joint Committee of representatives of each events. In the end, this led to the institution in 2002 of a NATO-Russia Council, whose function was to reassure Russia in regards to the bloc’s intentions by permitting for consultations on key problems with joint curiosity.

Whereas admirable in principle, in observe neither the Everlasting Joint Committee nor the NATO-Russia Council have been capable of foster good mutual relations. A part of the issue was that either side took actions that the opposite thought-about hostile: the bombing of Yugoslavia and Libya, and the growth of the bloc on the one aspect; the takeover of Crimea and assist for riot in Donbass on the opposite. Past that, although, the Russians discovered that coping with NATO as a gaggle didn’t work out fairly the best way they’d imagined.

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It appears as if Russia had believed that, when it turned as much as NATO-Russia Council conferences, it will interact in discussions with particular person bloc members every freely expressing their very own opinion. As an alternative, what tended to occur was that the NATO members labored out a collective place beforehand after which confronted Russia as a unified entrance. This gave the Russians no leeway to alter particular person members’ opinions or affect the bloc as an entire, particularly as a result of as soon as a gaggle choice has been reached folks don’t like to change it.

Consequently, Russia discovered the method of session extraordinarily irritating, if not completely pointless. Fairly than being consulted, it felt as if it was being introduced with faits accomplis.

Moscow’s choice to withdraw its representatives from NATO is, subsequently, hardly a shock, provided that they weren’t, in observe, reaching something. It’s however symbolically extraordinarily important. Russia’s presence on the headquarters in Brussels, and equally NATO’s presence in Moscow, at the very least indicated an aspiration on behalf of each events to attempt to do one thing to restore their relations. Following Lavrov’s assertion on Monday, it’s clear that no person is any longer in even pretending that issues would possibly get higher.

Not pretending any extra

It’s exhausting to see the place issues go from right here. Moscow will little doubt search to bypass NATO and the EU, talking on to their members. In flip, the 2 organizations will see that as half and parcel of a deliberate technique of divide and rule, with Russia being painted as making an attempt to separate the Western alliance. This may then be used as additional proof of Russian malice, although in actuality it’s extra a product of frustration than anything. The end result will not be totally to Russia’s liking.

One might marvel, subsequently, whether or not Russia’s transfer is a smart one. Even when one thing – just like the NATO-Russia Council – is a charade, it might nonetheless be worthwhile taking part due to the symbolic penalties of failing to take action. By strolling away from direct relations, Russia is sparing itself the sense of frustration that little doubt outcomes from each encounter with its Western “companions,” however it doesn’t clearly acquire something.

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It’s this logic that has little doubt persuaded Moscow to play together with the charade for thus lengthy. This week’s choice suggests, nevertheless, that the Russian authorities not provides a hoot what NATO thinks about it.

Whereas it gained’t make the slightest little bit of distinction to both NATO’s or Russia’s insurance policies in direction of one another, it does subsequently inform us one thing very particular in regards to the change in attitudes that has taken place in Russia over the previous 30 years. Whereas as soon as Russia’s rulers seemed to combine with the West, now they’ve slammed the door firmly shut, and made it clear that they intend to go their very own method, come what might.

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The statements, views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of the writer and don’t essentially symbolize these of RT.