| dc.description.abstract | A country characterized by internal disorder and lack of state authority may under certain circumstances exert some influence internationally precisely because of its weaknesses. This kind of “negative power” or “chaos power” is due to the fact that other states fear the international consequences of a possible collapse of the state in question. If one of these foreign countries has the resources and the will to take steps that can stabilise the situation in the state that seems to be in the process of falling apart, we can say that the government of the country in turmoil may have a degree of “chaos power”. That is, it may use the precarious situation to convince other governments to give political concessions or provide various forms of support.This report investigates the relationship between the various governments in Moscow and the Bush and Clinton administrations during the eventful years when the Soviet Union decayed and collapsed, and the independent Russia met serious problems in her efforts to establish a viable state. After a brief presentation of five other case studies that may shed some additional light on the concept in focus here, we ask whether elements of “chaos power” are visible in Moscow’s relations with Washington. The answer is a qualified “yes”. The US genuinely tried to prevent the dissolution of the Soviet Union and later to promote stability and democracy in Russia. However, the effects of American efforts were marginal, and were mostly due to the extraordinary circumstances of that time. | en_GB |