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The Folly of Realism

How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine

Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 14 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 14 weeks
A bestselling national security expert delivers a chilling analysis of how Western indecision and apathy made possible the return of brutal Russian expansionism – with catastrophic consequences.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, six US presidential administrations of both parties pursued policies for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia that emboldened Russia, playing into its imperialist, centuries-long mythos of regional hegemony. The result: military aggression and full-scale invasion. It was all too foreseeable.

In The Folly of Realism, leading national security expert and bestselling author Alexander Vindman argues that America's mistakes in Eastern Europe result from policymakers' fixation on immediate, short-term problem-solving and misplaced hopes and fears. He proposes a new long-term, values-based approach that insists on the fundamentals of liberal democracy and a rules-based world order.

Enlivened by firsthand accounts and behind-the-scenes interviews with leading Washington and international policymakers and culminating in the shocking brutality of Putin's invasions of Ukraine, the book exposes the follies of western foreign policymaking, sources of the dangerous return of Russian imperialism, and proscribes how it can be contained.
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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Jacques Roy's narration sounds like a political science lecture as Alexander Vindman's analysis of Russia's invasion of Ukraine delves into the history behind the conflict. He covers the Chernobyl disaster, denuclearization efforts, Ukraine's role in the fall of the Soviet Union, and relations between Russia and the region dating back to the seventeenth century. It's packed with enough detail to bring listeners up to speed on the conflict today. There's brief excitement as Roy recounts Vindman's own observation mission at Ukraine's border in his diplomatic work for the U.S. Roy injects passion into Vindman's criticism of President Trump and calls for neo-idealism, a foreign policy based on U.S. values that would help Ukraine and other nations maintain self-rule in a world of aggressive powers. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine

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