Hegemonic bargaining describes how U.S. leadership was detrimental to ensuring momentum but not sufficient for a full policy expansion. Whereas in 2008 Washington encountered French-German resistance to premature commitments and tipped the balance for the otherwise conservative United Kingdom, the situation since 2014 was marked by Germany and Poland as the two extreme positions in NATO’s internal debate over the relationship with Russia against the values-integration of the contested neighbourhood. NATO’s regional influence, including on domestic reforms, continues to be sensitive to shifts in the West-Russia equilibrium.