NEW YORK — President Obama’s decision to cancel his September meeting with President Vladimir Putin was heartily welcomed by a broad swath of the American political class. In the view of many American critics of Putin and the Kremlin, it was about time to punish Russia. Were it not for Russia, their argument goes, not only would Edward Snowden now be facing justice in the United States, but President Bashar al-Assad of Syria would have been removed and the civil war ended, Iran would have forsworn its nuclear weapons program, and Ukraine and Georgia would be flourishing democracies solidly anchored in the West.

Why is Russia always at fault? Why the persistent calls to punish it?

To be sure, Russia often takes positions contrary to those of the United States, and the Kremlin is an easy target for criticism. Putin’s pugnacious style, his evident glee at poking the United States in the eye, along with his mounting appeals to xenophobic, baser sentiments to shore up his domestic position, all rub Americans the wrong way.

Yet the vehemence of calls for punishment is divorced from the real challenge Russia poses on the world stage. The truth is that the country is now less of a threat than at any time since World War II, and its potential to shape global affairs pales in comparison with that of the United States.

Russia is not the Soviet Union; it offers no compelling ideological alternative, nor is it about to invent one. And even though Putin harbors dreams of restoring Russia’s pre-eminence throughout the former Soviet space, China, various Islamic movements and Europe are all contesting Moscow’s influence along its periphery and, at times, within Russia itself.