One war: three collisions--in this vividly written narrative history of the war in Ukraine
Michael Kimmage puts together the pieces of a complicated international puzzle to understand
the origins of the current conflict that has brought the world to the brink of a new Cold War.
In Collisions Michael Kimmage a historian and former State Department official who focused
on the Russia-Ukraine conflict offers a wide-angle historically informed account of the
origins of the current Russia-Ukraine war. Tracing the development of Ukraine and Russia's
fractious relationship back to the end of the Cold War Kimmage takes readers through the
central events that led to Vladimir Putin seizing a large portion of Ukraine--the Crimea--in
2014 and eight years later initiating arguably the most intensive military conflict of the
entire post-World War II era. From the halls of power in Washington Kyiv and Moscow to the
battlefields of Ukraine Kimmage chronicles Putin's ascendancy to the Russian presidency
delves into multiple American presidencies and their dealings with Russia and Europe and
recounts Europe's efforts to bring Ukraine closer to the European Union. He tells the story of
how Ukraine went from an embattled country on the edge of Europe to a formidable military power
capable of pushing back the Russian military. Just as importantly Kimmage captures how the
current war has transformed multiple centers of power--from China to the United States--and
dramatically altered the path of globalization itself. He makes the case that the war in
Ukraine has shifted the direction of major macro-trends in world politics contributing to the
fragmentation of international politics higher inflation greater food insecurity and the
general collapse of arms control. These intersecting dangers amount to a new age of global
instability born in war and in the collision between Russia and the United States that has
brought the world to the brink of a new Cold War. An authoritative interpretation of possibly
the most important geopolitical event of the post-Cold War era Collisions is essential reading
for anyone interested in the origins of this epochal conflict and its ripple effects across the
globe.
