Perception and Misperception in U.S.-Russian Relations

The contemporary political relationship between the United States and Russia is a contentious one, the nature of which cannot be explained solely as the result of objective decision-making. Rather, many of the interactions that have taken place between the two in the last century and a half have operated based on subjective factors such as perception and ideological bias. This research explores major events in the history of Russian-American relations through the lens of constructivism and political psychology, in order to determine the extent to which perception has influenced the outcome of these events.