Brian Taylor
In January 2020, former Vice President Joseph Biden pledged to not only “impose real costs on Russia” for its transgressions at home and abroad but also “renew the U.S. commitment to arms control for a new era.” As such, it is fair to assume that Washington’s behavior towards Russia under President-Elect Biden will be significantly different than the previous four years, a change that will force Moscow to make adjustments.
Brian Taylor is a professor of political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Taylor specializes in Russian politics and security studies. He is the author of “The Code of Putinism” (Oxford University Press, 2018).
Taylor offers the following perspective:
“Russian political leadership will be wary of a Biden presidency. Biden has talked tough about ‘standing up to Vladimir Putin.’ Biden’s foreign policy team is likely to have multiple people who worked for the Obama administration, which the Kremlin blamed for anti-Putin protests in Moscow in 2011-12 and for the Ukrainian revolution of 2014. On the other hand, there will be areas of possible cooperation, including on nuclear arms control, a renewed nuclear deal with Iran and potentially climate change. Plus, the Biden administration is likely to run a more professional and competent foreign policy process, which also will make the relationship more predictable.”
For more information or to request an interview with Professor Taylor please contact:
Joshua M. Grossman ’03
Director of Media Relations
Division of Communications and Marketing
T 202.227.9250
jmgrossm@syr.edu
