WHY UKRAINE MATTERS

In this nonfiction book, a foreign relations expert surveys the global impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine and offers context.

Dedicated to “all Ukrainians” who “shall triumph over this war too,” this volume analyzes the Eastern European nation’s historic relationship with Russia and how the world came to its “most challenging moment” since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. Chowdhury’s erudite account walks readers through the turbulent history of Ukraine during World War II and the Cold War, its post-Soviet independence, and the forces inside Russia that initiated the current conflict. While this story is not unknown, it is related here in an accessible yet nuanced writing style. And the book often adds underreported elements to its contextualization of the war. While not justifying his behavior, the work complicates the standard depictions of Vladimir Putin, reminding readers that he petitioned for NATO membership during his first term as president. Indeed, throughout Putin’s first two terms in office, at a time when he “needed the West to rebuild, reshape and reorganize Russia from the economic mess he inherited,” he presented his country as an unflinching advocate of America’s war on terror and provided logistical support for United States endeavors in Afghanistan. It was only after his subsequent reelection in 2012 that Putin’s posturing shifted to anti-Western rhetoric that promised Russian citizens a “new destiny” and the nation’s return to its former glory, which corresponded with military expeditions in Syria, Libya, Georgia, and Crimea. The roots of this book lie in Chowdhury’s undergraduate thesis at George Mason University, which in part explored Ukraine’s complex history. Two decades later, as a fellow at the Global Policy Institute with a graduate degree from Harvard University and multiple books on Middle Eastern geopolitics and nuclear arms, the author provided significant updates to his unpublished work on Ukraine. Backed by solid research found in more than 30 pages of references, this volume is a detailed, historically minded addition to the conversations surrounding Russia’s war in Ukraine. But at more than 400 pages, the book may be intimidating to some readers.

A well-written, convincing case for why Ukraine matters to the world’s future.