Resetting the Overload

In March 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov with a ‘reset’ button that symbolized fresh start in bilateral relations proposed by the Obama Administration. It is widely known that the word was mistranslated: ‘overload’ instead of ‘reset’ (peregruzka instead of perezagruzka). Even if translation was wrong, the metaphor was catchy, so policy-makers and commentators picked it up and would still frame the issue using computer-related vocabulary. For instance, Dmitry Medvedev, the-then President of Russia, spoke of the new software, a new interface and a new gadget needed in Russian-U.S. relations. He may have implied the need for a broader framework rather than a one-time friendly gesture, but this broader framework has not been created.