Interview with John McMahon

John and I first met studying Russian together at Hertzen State University in St. Petersburg, Russia (He’s on the left, I’m on the right looking more pretentious that usual and drinking bad Russian cognac). Now and before his studies in Russia he has co-hosted a weekly political discussion podcast called the Progressive Student Voice. The hour long show is an invaluable source of muckracking stories and talking-point-breaking discussion on national and world politics. Recently I discussed with him the public discourse about Russia and the possible impact of the Georgian crisis on the American election.

Q: How do you believe the American presidential candidates, if elected, would change/impact the America-EU-Russia relationship?
A: I feel that John McCain would heighten tensions between the US and Russia/take an even more agressive stance in all realms, whether it be discursively, miltarily, diplomatically, etc. There are a lot of factors that play into this. I’m really surprised that a general perception regarding the fact the Randy Schuenemann, McCain’s top foreign policy advisor, lobbied for the Georgian government as recently as March, is viewed as a strength. McCain has made no secret about his plans for kicking Russia out of the G8, establishing some sort of international democratic body (i.e., without Russia and China), and as you and I have discussed, explicitly stating that US missile defense is designed in part against Russia. In my view, and I’m not alone in this, is that McCain is more a hawk on foreign policy than perhaps any president in history, Reagan included. I think he represents a militaristic, unipolar, aggressive effort to assert what I believe is a waning US hegemony.
Obama, on the other hand, is tougher to read. He is on the record as emphasizing disarmament as a centerpiece of somewhat renewed US-Russia relations, but I don’t see much of a Russia record with him besides that. In context of the current conflict, he initially came out with a statement that essentially condemned both Russia and Georgia, but followed that up with almost exclusive criticism of Russia. He missed an opportunity to articulate a decidedly different approach to US-Russia relations by quasi-accepting the frame that US media and politicians are using for this conflict. I wish he would have placed it in a context of 20 years of US aggressiveness and disrespect for Russia and said that he represented an end to that.

Q: Having lived in Russia, how has your perspective on U.S. foreign policy changed?
A: I think that my time in Russia confirmed for me suspicions I had regarding the lack of perspective in both US foreign policy and the way that US foreign policy is discussed. A good example is that with the proposed missile defense sites in Central and Eastern Europe, EU and NATO enlargement, and US military forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and perhaps in Iran down the line, Russia was more or less encircled. But you won’t hear that perspective in anything but the most focused and insightful sources in the US, which, by the way, are often blogs. It took going to Russia to make alternative perspectives more normalized for me.
Q: More on your time in Russia, as an active citizen journalist covering domestic politics here, give us idea of the contrast in the political and campaign processes in Russia and the United States, and what misconceptions, if any you feel the Russians bear towards American political process and vice-versa.
A: In Russia, the technical campaign time period is limited, when you could argue that Hillary Clinton started running for President sometime in 2006, for example. In Russia, at least for the parliamentary elections that occurred while I was there, the elections weren’t as pervasive. One could speculate on any number of factors influencing that, but the nature of the parties, the functions of the media, Presidential v. parliamentary elections, etc., all play a role. The act of voting itself is eerily similar – I went with my host dad in Russia when he voted, and minus the babushkas and freezing temperatures, it could have been the US. As far as misconceptions go, I think the dominance of [Vladimir Putin's party,] United Russia is somewhat overstated in the US. Electorally, they do dominate, but I saw more people handing out literature for [other political parties like] A Just Russia and the Communist Party than for United Russia.
Q: What factors do you think drive these misconceptions? Is it people falling back on old assumptions about Russia, or is there an anti-Russia media bias in the America media?
A: Both, and they’re inter-related. Politics and media in the US when it come to Russia are, in my view, driven by arrogance, ignorance and leftovers from the Cold War. Yes, Russia does not have a US-style democracy. But why should every country in the world has to live up to some objective, American-constructed standard of democracy? Moreover, if that claim is made, then it needs to be in context; Putin is popular because of the rise in standards of living under his reign and how he asserts Russia’s role in international politics, and whether or not someone from Kasparov’s party gets beaten up is more or less irrelevant to someone who can buy a car or a computer, or go on vaction. Personally, I would never justify many of Putin’s actions in the realm of human rights, tolerance of dissent, etc., but I do understand his popularity and success in Russia. Getting more back to your question, I would argue that US politicians, media, and for the most part citizens begin from the assumption that Russia is at best someone to worry about, but more often is an enemy. And if everyone is functioning based on that assumption, then you are going to see aggressive policies toward Russia and anti-Russia bias in the media. Russia is a threat, discursively.
Q: Both American presidential candidates have now commented on the Georgian conflict, and as you mentioned earlier John McCain’s foreign policy advisor has lobbied for the Republic of Georgia. Do you think that the American stance towards Russia might become a campaign issue, and if so, do you worry that the seemingly anti-Russia media bias might push both candidates toughen their stances?
A: That’s partly dependent on Russian actions over the next couple weeks and months. If they withdraw from Georgia without much more happening, then it goes back to more or less status quo vis-a-vis the campaign, meaning a non-issue. But if the conflict smolders, then candidates have to address it, and yes, the mainstream discourse regarding Russia will compel them to be, in my opinion, overly aggressive. This is interesting, because this thought makes me wonder if Russian officials are thinking about the Georgian conflict in the context of the US election at all.
Q: Play the nihilistic pundit, which candidate do you think most benefits from Russia staying in the news?
A: Nick, this is not the first time I’ve been implicated in nihilism. Conventional wisdom says John McCain, because he can play off this ridiculous idea that ‘strong=right,’ although I would formulate it as ‘ignorance+arrogance=perpetual confrontation, but this is a digression. If we operate on the assumption that a generalized American populace favors harbors anti-Russian senitiments, than that would appear to be true. But I would go back to one of your first questions and say that if Russia remains in the news, and Obama decides to actually articulate an alternative framing of the issue instead of playing a ‘who’s tough’ game with McCain, he can demonstrate insight and, forgive me for using the word, change on foreign policy issues.
Q: Alright, I think that about does it, anything you’d like to add on any of these issues?
A: For me, the key thing is to be a voice offering alternative perspectives on Russia in general, and on the Georgia/Russia conflict more specifically. If all people hear is aggressive, anti-Russian rhetoric, a discursive cycle is created that further normalizes that perspective in politics and media. And, if your readers want more John McMahon-style analysis, they should listen to my podcast, the Progressive Student Voice, available online here and on iTunes here.
Q: Of course. I know I will