Introduction: Why This Book?

This book is a sequel to the book that was published in 2021 with the title NATO’s Expansion After the Cold War: Geopolitics and Impacts for International Security as a part of the book series Global Power Shift. However, as is well known, just a year after its publication, a horrible event happened: Russian dictator Vladimir Putin started an aggressive war against Ukraine. This invasion was prepared as a short operation that would be crowned by an easy regime change and an imposing enlargement of the territory of Russia. Today, we know that these plans were totally erroneous because the Russian élites fatally underestimated the determination of Ukrainians to resist and defend their independent state. At the same time, Putin and his followers underestimated the solidarity of the USA and other member states of NATO with Ukraine, namely, their political, diplomatic, financial, and military support for the invaded and deeply suffering country. As a result, we are witnessing a merciless proxy war that is accompanied by immense human suffering and is causing massive damage for the next generations, including a worsening of the environment.