In "Russia's War Against Ukraine," Gwendolyn Sasse analyses the background to this war and examines the factors that led to Putin’s fateful decision. She retraces the history of Ukraine’s struggle for independence from Russia and shows how democratic developments in Ukraine had become a risk for Russia’s political system. She also shows that ambiguous Western policy towards Russia encouraged elites in the Kremlin to think that they had more room for action than they did. The result is an analysis of the background to the war, an account of the course of the war itself and a timely reflection on what its consequences will be. 

The Cyril Black International Book Forum is held in honor of the late Cyril Black, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished Professor of History and International Affairs Emeritus at Princeton. Black was the director of Princeton’s Center of International Studies from 1968 to 1985 (CIS became PIIRS in 2003) and a member of the University faculty for 50 years.