Strategic Culture and the U.S. Engagement in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Abstract The paper examines the strategic culture and the U.S. engagement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict between February 2014 and September 2024. It identifies and examines traditional elements of American strategic culture, such as the idea of American exceptionalism, the liberal philosophical tradition, internationalist foreign policy, the role of NATO and the strategy of indirect engagement, the role of public opinion and the influence of the Protestant ethic, and technical fetishism. Traditional elements of American strategic culture are reflected in and explain US behavior in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The US behavior in the Russia-Ukraine conflict confirm the pattern of continuity within the US strategic culture.