Ukraine and the Art of Strategy

by Lawrence Freedman Narrated by Julian Elfer

Overview

The Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine, and economic sanctions imposed by the West transformed European politics. The conflict did not escalate to the levels originally feared but nor was either side able to bring it to a definitive conclusion. Ukraine suffered a loss of territory but was not forced into changing its policies away from the Westward course adopted as a result of the EuroMaidan uprising of February 2014. President Putin was left supporting a separatist enclave as Russia's economy suffered significant damage.



Ukraine and the Art of Strategy provides an account of the origins and course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through the lens of strategy. Lawrence Freedman describes the development of President Putin's anxieties that former Soviet countries were being drawn towards the European Union, the effective pressure he put on President Yanokvych of Ukraine to turn away from the EU, and the resulting "EuroMaidan Revolution" which led to Yanukovych fleeing. He explores the reluctance of Putin to use Russian forces to do more that consolidate the insurgency in Eastern Ukraine, the failure of the Minsk peace process, and the limits of the international response. Putin's strategic-making is kept in view at all times, including his use of "information warfare" and attempts to influence the American election.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Freedman skilfully sifts evidence and arguments, mostly cutting through propaganda and disinformation" — Robert Brinkley, Chatham House Ukraine Forum, UK, International Affairs

"Freedman's book provides an original contribution to the growing number of academic studies of the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014." — Taras Kuzio, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Europe-Asia Studies

"Freedman's book offers a thorough and insightful accounting of not just how and why Russia seized Crimea and intervened in eastern Ukraine in 2014, but also the broader strategic lessons and implications of the crisis and the West's response. A must-read for anyone interested in Russia's ongoing confrontation with the West and the form that it has taken in Ukraine." -Charles A. Kupchan, Professor of International Affairs, Georgetown University, and Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

"When the Dean of the Art of Strategy expounds, the students say 'Give us an example.' And what an example!, It is an instant classic of the 'case study,' casting all others of the genre into the shadows. To comprehend the vicissitudes of clashing nations, the book is as surprising as it is convincing." -Charles Hill, Distinguished Fellow in Grand Strategy, Yale University, and Research Fellow, the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

"Freedman cuts through the fog of disinformation that has engulfed Ukraine, systematically challenging Western and Russian 'hot takes' alike, grounding his study in fact and imbuing it with just the right mix of wisdom and humility. Above all, he reminds us that war is a time not to seek flippant answers, but to ask vexing questions." -Samuel Greene, Director, King's Russia Institute and Reader in Russian Politics, King's College London

"Freedman places the war in Ukraine under the dispassionate eye of a master strategist and applying lessons from the study of deterrence, limited war, and strategic theory. His analysis is essential for thinking clearly about the war raging in the middle of Europe - and perhaps more important, for thinking realistically about how to end it." -Tom Nichols, author of The Death of Expertise

Kirkus Reviews

2018-10-28

A theoretical study of Russia's use of "hybrid warfare"—nonmilitary measures that are not new but nonetheless lethal.

In his latest book on the "problems of strategy," Freedman (Emeritus, War Studies/King's Coll., London; The Future of War, 2017, etc.) examines Russia's aims in provoking Ukraine and ultimately annexing Crimea—and how the objectives were ultimately unsuccessful. According to the author, the conflict has proven to be a good "test bed for modern warfare." In 2013, under authoritarian Vladimir Putin, Russia used a combination of brute force and coercive power (e.g., economic blackmail) to compel Ukraine to move closer to Russia than to the European Union. As the prized former Soviet satellite threatened to move out of its orbit and closer to the West, Russia unleashed political, economic, and cyber chaos to cause the fragmentation of Ukraine so that Crimea and its eastern sections would clamor to break away. Explaining that Russia "acted out of a sense of threat" and banking on a referendum in Crimea that was supposed to show its overwhelming pro-Russia support, Putin annexed Crimea in March 2014. After a methodical dissection of strategic theory in the post-Cold War era, the author turns his attention to identifying and assessing the objectives of the Ukrainian conflict. While Freedman acknowledges that the conflict "represented a sharp geopolitical jolt, a reminder that hard power never quite goes away," the Russian strategy was neither well thought out nor ultimately satisfying. The economic sanctions imposed by the U.N. and U.S. were initially deemed "mildly punitive," but they are evidently beginning to show damaging effects. Moreover, Freedman notes that the war has "united Ukraine more than it drew it apart." As for Russia, returning to its belligerent Soviet ways has only reinstilled wariness in its neighbors and dispelled in the West any good favor it had of becoming a modern, economically significant peer.

A dry, surgical investigation for experts and scholars.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175677110
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	06/07/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos