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Hubris

The Origins of Russia's War Against Ukraine

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Hubris

By: Jonathan Haslam
Narrated by: Jonathan Haslam
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Bloomsbury presents Hubris: The Origins of Russia's War Against Ukraine, written and read by Jonathan Haslam.

On February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukraine conflict that began eight years earlier. But the roots of the conflict began long before that historic date.

The roots of the Russo-Ukrainian War can be traced back through a sequence of events to the early 1990s that lead us not to Russia or Ukraine, but to the other side of the Atlantic. In 1994, the White House, under President Clinton, embarked upon the expansion of NATO, urged on by the new governments of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, who sought the security NATO could offer against Russia. Even at this early stage, the United States was secretly considering Ukraine for membership. When the likelihood of this emerged, President Putin of Russia made absolutely clear that this was a red line not to be crossed. But few expected the war that eventually came.

In Hubris, Jonathan Haslam, one of the world’s greatest experts on Russian foreign policy and espionage, examines one of the most intractable issues of our time.©2023 Jonathan Haslam (P)2024 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 20th Century Eastern Europe Modern Russia War Witty Soviet Union Espionage Imperialism Socialism Military Capitalism Cold War
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Critic reviews

An elegantly written and exhaustively sourced critique of US and Western policy towards Russia across the past thirty years... Essential reading for academics and policymakers interested in Russian foreign policy.
A bold, masterful, and pioneering examination of the roots of the Russo-Ukrainian War that clears away all half-truths and misunderstandings.
Rigorously and decisively tracing the origins of the Russo-Ukrainian War to Western political ineptitude and complacency, Hubris simply must be read if we are to avoid repeating the same mistakes again.
Sixty years ago, Senator J. William Fulbright eloquently argued that "the arrogance of power" was the root of America’s disastrous war in Vietnam. Jonathan Haslam has produced a masterpiece on a similar theme: how America’s hubris led it to squander the opportunity for peace at the end of the Cold War, and instead to plunge recklessly into dangerous wars of choice, including the conflict in Ukraine. With meticulous care, Haslam shows the amateurism of America’s post–Cold War presidents and the war machine that revs in America’s deep state.
All stars
Most relevant
Amazingly insightful and balanced. Well researched, unbiased, delivered with clarity and insight. Highly recommend to anyone in seach on answers and and meaning of the major conflict of the 21st century.

Brilliant in every respect

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A properly balanced, authoritative and deeply researched book of modern international relations history by a serious historian and expert in Russian history. does not pull his punches against any of the main players, including five US presidents and leaders of NATO countries. He has no truck with Putin but shows how there were so many turnings in the road which led to war and which were wrongly taken by the West.

Essential reading for anyone who wants to know how we have got to where are in Ukraine

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An unsettling account of how we got where we are with Ukraine, Russia and the West. Not a bad place to start in understanding what should happen next.

Incisive and eerily omniscient

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