The NATO-Russia council-an assessment of the NRC prior to the Ukraine crisis

Abstract

Before the NATO-Russia Council's cooperation with Russia was suspended in 2014 against the background of the Ukraine crisis, it contributed in various fields as a platform for various cooperation projects. However, little research has been achieved so far on the function of the NRC in terms of international relations theories. This paper intends to analyse the NRC from neorealism and liberal institutionalism perspectives, trying to elucidate and discuss whether NATO's cooperation with Russiawithin theNRC had benefitted theirmutual security before the Kremlin's illegal annexation of Crimea in March 2014.