On 24 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 origins 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.

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. * S. Neil MacFarlane, Professor (emeritus) of International Relations, University of Oxford *
A bold, masterful, and pioneering examination of the roots of the Russo-Ukrainian War that clears away all half-truths and misunderstandings. * Chris Riches *
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. * Richard Moriarty *
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. * Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University *

Jonathan Haslam is a leading scholar and writer, specialising in the history of the Soviet Union. He was the George F. Kennan Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton from 2015 to 2021. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, Emeritus Professor of the History of International Relations, Cambridge University and Life Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Haslam is the author of many celebrated books, including The Spectre of War and Near and Distant Neighbours.