- Victoria Nuland’s priorities were to uphold American interests and to intervene and influence countries with ties with the USA’s adversaries, such as Ukraine.
- Nuland advocated American liberal interventionism ideas across the Caucasus, where she is blamed for the recent anti-government protests in Georgia in 2023.
- Nuland is also blamed for present-day Armenian problems with Azerbaijan regarding issues related to Artashk where she is blamed for the present-day rift between Armenia and Russia.
- India is also not untouched by Victoria Nuland’s policy, as she has been very critical of India’s present-day policy, where she has raised concerns regarding India’s relationship with Russia.
Victoria Nuland, the most senior and experienced diplomat in the recent history of the USA, is set to resign. She has served under six US presidents and has been in the service for the last 30 years. Nuland echoed and adhered to the interventionist policy of the USA. As she is resigning, she leaves behind a questionable and controversial legacy.
Victoria Nuland is married to prominent neoconservative and leading advocate of liberal interventionism, American foreign policy strategist Robert Kagan, who himself served under the State Department between 1984 and 1988. The couple is criticized for their approach by the opposition.
Except for former President Donald Trump, Victoria Nuland has served under six presidents. Donald Trump did not opt for her service amid her neoconservative approach, which was opposite to Donald Trump’s. In her 30+ years of service, Victoria Nuland has worked in various parts of the world, including Ukraine, where she is criticized for her work and is considered to be the major architect of the crises.
In 2013, under Secretary John Kerry, Ambassador Victoria Nuland assumed her position as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs on September 18, 2013. Her appointment is considered to be the major initiator of the present-day Ukrainian crisis.
Her priorities there were to uphold American interests and to intervene and influence countries having ties with adversaries of the USA, such as Ukraine. When she assumed the job, Ukraine was under President Viktor Yanukovych, who had pragmatic ties with Russia and was simultaneously open to the EU. Amid the financial crisis in Ukraine, he was offered financial help from President Putin, which was seen negatively by the USA. They made no hurry to tag him as a “Russian-friendly” leader who opposed the European dream. This later gave Victoria Nuland intervention space inside Ukraine, where she was the major architect of the famous Maidan revolution in Ukraine in February 2014, which ultimately overthrew Viktor Yanukovych from power. This was her first major intervention in Ukraine. The USA used various props like media, pressure groups, and false flag demonstrations to stage the biggest-ever revolution in the history of modern-day Ukraine.
Victoria Nuland didn’t stop there; she had a major hand in selecting the successor of President Yanukovych and setting the base of a US-friendly regime in Ukraine. It can be confirmed from her leaked telephonic conversation with then US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, where she discussed possible candidature for Ukraine. When we look back and understand the present-day Ukrainian crisis, we find that the 2014 American intervention headed by Victoria Nuland was the initiator of the modern Ukrainian crisis.
Nuland’s legacy didn’t just stop at Ukraine; she continues to advocate American liberal interventionism ideas across the Caucasus, where she is blamed for the recent anti-government protests in Georgia in 2023. She is also blamed for present-day Armenian problems with Azerbaijan regarding issues related to Artashk. Here, she is blamed for the present-day rift between Armenia and Russia as she has tried to influence Armenia and has attempted to reduce its ties with Russia, leading to war, further worsening the situation between Russia and Armenia. Ultimately, it’s America that has benefited as Armenia, post-Artashk crisis, has tried to make close ties with America and has criticized Russia for Armenian worries.
Nuland’s work has also brought instability to Africa as she has tried to influence countries, and recent crises in Niger, Mali, Sudan, and Burkina Faso can be blamed on her. Interestingly, in 2023, she visited all these countries and asked the respective regimes to defy Russian presence and interests in their territories. An interesting pattern was observed as just days after her visit, Sudan witnessed the biggest fighting among its military factions, further creating problems in the already coup-held country. The same can be observed for Niger and Mali as both of these countries saw coups in 2023.
India is also not untouched by Victoria Nuland’s policy, as she has been very critical of India’s present-day policy, where she has raised concerns regarding India’s relationship with Russia and has alarmed India amid the growing China-Russia relationship.
With Victoria Nuland set to retire, she leaves behind a highly controversial legacy. In her last 30+ years, she was the face of American liberal neoconservative and intervention-led foreign policy. It would be interesting to see whether her retirement puts an end to this approach to foreign policy by the USA or if does USA find another candidate to carry forward their belligerent policies.
References:
- https://responsiblestatecraft.org/victoria-nuland-retiring/#:~:text=In%20her%20role%20as%20Assistant,oust%20the%20elected%20Yanukovych%20government.
- https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/world-news/victoria-nuland-us-state-department-official-and-critic-of-russias-war-in-ukraine-to-step-down/videoshow/108270379.cms
- https://indianexpress.com/article/india/russia-china-axis-not-good-for-india-us-can-help-with-defence-supplies-7831894/
(Aayush is a post-graduate student in International Relations at Kalinga University, Raipur. The opinions expressed are the author’s own)
Balaji Subramanian 
Palak Dogra 
Sindhuri Sai