Ukraine and Russia

From Civilized Divorce to Uncivil War

By: Paul D’Anieri

Narrated by: Shawn Compton

Paul D'Anieri explores the dynamics within Ukraine, between Ukraine and Russia, and between Russia and the West, that emerged with the collapse of the Soviet Union and eventually led to war in 2014. Proceeding chronologically, this book shows how Ukraine's separation from Russia in 1991, at the time called a "civilized divorce", led to what many are now calling "a new Cold War". He argues that the conflict has worsened because of three underlying factors—the security dilemma, the impact of democratization on geopolitics, and the incompatible goals of a post-Cold War Europe.

Rather than a peaceful situation that was squandered, D'Anieri argues that these were deep-seated pre-existing disagreements that could not be bridged, with concerning implications for the resolution of the Ukraine conflict. The book also shows how this war fits into broader patterns of contemporary international conflict and should therefore appeal to researchers working on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's relations with the West, and conflict and geopolitics more generally.

©2019 Paul D’Anieri (P)2022 Tantor

eye-opening

If you want to understand why Russia has always been some form of dictatorship with eyes on conquest this book answers thoes questions.

Good historical summary

I don't like Anieri's proposed solutions. While not entirely endorsing the idea, he seems to give too much credence to the approach of appeasement. But, while I may disagree with the implications of a few of his remarks, he gives a very thorough summary of the issues behind the modern Ukraine-Russia war. He doesn't lie like Mearsheimer or Stephen Cohen and by focusing on the 90s and 00s, his book does a better job than any I've read at listing the actual disagreements that preceded the war and served as the catalysts. Ironically, his own historical insights don't seem to suggest that there was ever a chance of appeasing Russia, so while he may criticize Andrew Wilson for saying "Russia went ape" his own factual analysis seems to confirm the exact same thing, that Russia went ape.