Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate by M.E. Sarotte

1 March 2022 - Mary Sarotte discusses her new book ‘Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate’ in conversation with Professor Brendan Simms at the Centre for Geopolitics.
Thirty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sarotte investigates how East-West diplomacy failed to establish a sustained partnership between the United States and Russia, and instead led to today’s stalemate. This book makes thorough use of new evidence to build its case and reflect on the geopolitical changes of the post-Cold War era.
As the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs as well as a research associate at Harvard University’s Center for European Studies, Sarotte is a leading expert in the history of international relations.
Her previous published work includes ‘The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall’ and ‘1989: The Struggle to Create Post-Cold War Europe.’ Sarotte is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former Dean’s Professor of History and Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California.

[@GH-oi2jf]

I will add that I just listened to Sarotte’s interview of Tom Brokaw at Harvard in Nov. 2014. At the end he was asked about how we should deal with Putin, and he said (among other things) that we should not have a military confrontation with Russia in Ukraine. Smart man.

[@GH-oi2jf]

The discussion here of the nature of the discussion between east and west about NATO expansion is legalistic. Sarotte is on firm ground, I think, is saying that such things must be written down and signed, but I am interested in whether expansion was good policy for the NATO powers at the time. In my opinion, NATO has been promiscuous in accepting new members and encouraging others, and I think it has backfired badly. It would have been better, in my layman’s opinion, to have expanded not at all (except for Germany), and to have worked harder for peace than for another war.

[@lib1007]

You never understand Russia. Russia wants all historical land back including Poland. My opinion, west should not give inch for Russian expansion.

[@unaharpenden]

A very interesting interview on history with the American Sarotte, apart from her very last statement where she sees victory for America as the sole cold war superpower and Russia a subservient power.

[@unaharpenden]

Maybe Sarotte should have studied Medicine after all

[@barrylane4164]

Thank You. Now I understand the dynamics of this complex issue. Excellent speakers.

[@braveHoratius]

I use hold great import to the "Not one inch" line. BUt, this new research makes that line irrelevant. So, much happened behind the scenes we did not know about.

[@BestResuMS]

It's wonderful at this time in history to hear your clarification on the "not one inch further East" "promise"!!

[@tnndll4294]

Mary Sarote: "Moscow signed a treaty (in 1990) allowing NATO to enlarge eastward. Putin never brings this up." at 31:35

[@tnndll4294]

Gorbachev also debunked the promise claim in 2 interviews. He called it a myth.

[@scottbuchanan9426]

Prof. Sarotte quotes Vladimir Putin as claiming that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest "catastrophe" of the twentieth century. This not quite correct. He actually said that it was the greatest "geopolitical catastrophe" of that period. It's a small -- but to my mind, meaningful -- difference. He may not be right, but it means that his claim isn't open to the facile objection that it neglects obvious humanitarian calamities like (e.g.) the Holocaust.

[@ruslankbr5243]

Just find George Kennan words about NATO expansion prediction and you would need any other opinions of so called experts

[@benanderson2576]

Watching after the fact, where can I find these documents, aside from scouring the Clinton library. Thanks in advance.

[@felipearbustopotd]

Those former satellite states of the former CCCP wanted in to NATO / EU for obvious historical reasons. If the CCCP had treated them more fairly, they wouldn't have fled westwards. No signed documents exists, that relates to 'not one inch more'. The invasion of Ukraine is solely at the feet of Pootin. Russia recognised the borders of Ukraine when they become Independent.

[@GH-oi2jf]

I see after listening to the end that the whole picture of post-Soviet relations is pretty complicated, but it seems to me the question of how we got into the present situation is crystal clear. We encroached on the Russian sphere of influence by encouraging Georgia and Ukraine to move toward NATO membership. The realists, from Kennan on, were right. Mearsheim said forget about Ukraine. It is in the Russian sphere and it is not important to the west. I (a layman) was saying years ago that we should not be getting involved with Ukraine. Ukraine has been a battleground for a thousand years. The only correct policy for western relations with Ukraine would have been to advise them to try to get along with their neighbors. Now, I would just cut off all military aid to Ukraine. We are just adding fuel to a fire and contributing to much suffering.

[@Extra-dg7uv]

So Ukraine has no right to exist as a sovereign state?

[@jps0117]

@@Extra-dg7uv She does have that right. Interesting how 44 million brave and freedom-loving Ukrainians are conveniently left out of the picture by the absurdly named "realists". Putin has a pathological need to reconstitute the Russian empire, and external considerations are of no matter to him; *that* is what is "crystal clear" because he did us the favor of making that clear for us, time and time again. Russia has, through its behavior over the decades and centuries, forfeited any right to a "sphere of influence". Ukraine can't "get along" with its aggressive neighbor to the northeast anymore than a man in the wilderness can "get along" with a ravenous beast; the beast must be defanged or killed. Ukraine has indeed been "a battleground for a thousand years", but has been free for the last 31. Certainly, unless you are a perverted fatalist, *that* is what matters, and *that* is our moral imperative.

[@ruslankbr5243]

@@Extra-dg7uv it is not sovereign it is under total control of USA, hypocrisy of the West is to blame someone and doing the same for example in Kosovo while Yugoslavia did not make any hostile military unions against west while Ukraine wished to join NATO with historically territories of Russia. Ukraine had some sort of Sovereignity until 2014 but today it is totally dependent from USA more than ever, even in USSR Ukraine had more rights it was one of main republic and more developed than Russia, but today it is Biden puppet in his new European project.

[@barrylane1055]

Your certainly not a Ukrainian!!! I guess your own narrow self-interests come first!

[@felipearbustopotd]

Only Pootin is to blame for invading Ukraine.

[@bilduquette9371]

"Putin climbing the greasy pole of politics", says it all lady.