Frontline Ukraine

Crisis in the Borderlands

Professor Richard Sakwa author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:11th Aug '16

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Frontline Ukraine cover

The first account of the gravest international crisis of the 21st century

The unfolding crisis in Ukraine has brought the world to the brink of a new Cold War. As Russia and Ukraine tussle for Crimea and the eastern regions, relations between Putin and the West have reached an all-time low. How did we get here? Richard Sakwa here unpicks the context of conflicted Ukrainian identity and of Russo-Ukrainian relations and traces the path to the recent disturbances through the events which have forced Ukraine, a country internally divided between East and West, to choose between closer union with Europe or its historic ties with Russia. In providing the first full account of the ongoing crisis, Sakwa analyses the origins and significance of the Euromaidan Protests, examines the controversial Russian military intervention and annexation of Crimea, reveals the extent of the catastrophe of the MH17 disaster and looks at possible ways forward following the October 2014 parliamentary elections. In doing so, he explains the origins, developments and global significance of the internal and external battle for Ukraine.With all eyes focused on the region, Sakwa unravels the myths and misunderstandings of the situation, providing an essential and highly readable account of the struggle for Europe's contested borderlands.

'Frontline Ukraine is a formidably powerful, well argued and thoroughly sourced attempt to correct world opinion on the Ukrainian conflict. Even those who cannot accept Professor Sakwa's underlying case - that the Ukrainian disaster has been brought about more by Western post-Cold War triumphalism than by President Putin's supposed 'imperialism' - will find invaluable data and perceptions in this brilliant and hard-hitting book.' - Neal Ascherson 'The great merit of Richard Sakwa's book is its willingness to challenge the prevailing wisdoms about the Ukraine crisis and to explain how its origins lie in the West's failure to create an equitable political and security order in Europe after the collapse of communism. It is essential reading to understand the causes and complexities of the Ukraine crisis.' - Angus Roxburgh; 'an accurate, overdue and - as far as it is possible - unbiased analysis that enables the reader to get a deeper view of both the root and proximate causes of the Ukraine crisis...excellent.' - Benedikt Harzl, Review of Central and Eastern European Law; 'Sakwa's approach is comprehensive, balanced, historically surefooted, pragmatic, and demonstrates an insight into events sorely lacking in Western discourse...It's not often a book reaches out and slaps you in the face and forces you to reconsider your entire position on a fundamental level. Frontline Ukraine is that kind of book. It cuts through the talking head static and makes a convincing case for a new view...Frontline Ukraine is brilliant, insightful, extensive, detailed...It cannot be stressed enough what an incredibly important read this is for Westerners commenting on Russia.' - Chris Murray, Defence Report; 'Sakwa's book is a salutary challenge to the very basis of Australian foreign policy: the principle that Washington is always right...The great value of Sakwa's book is that it confronts the notion that only the United States and its allies have legitimate foreign policy interests and that any idea emanating from outside the US alliance system must be 'potentially divisive and dangerous' - Nick Hordern, Australian Book Review, 'a very good book...the most balanced study that I've seen' - Noam Chomsky

ISBN: 9781784530648

Dimensions: 216mm x 138mm x 33mm

Weight: 608g

320 pages