Many attempts have been made to explain Russia's fateful decision to invade Ukraine, but the distinguished political scientist Sabine Fischer argues that we can only fully understand Russia's foreign policy and its aggressive war of annihilation against Ukraine by putting Russian chauvinism at the heart of our analysis. Fischer argues that Putin's regime has long been driven by a mixture of aggressive nationalism, sexism and autocracy: taken together, these three elements constitute the chauvinist threat that stems from Moscow and that led to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

An internationally renowned expert on Russia and Eastern Europe with decades of experience in EU-Russia relations, Fischer enriches her analysis with observations drawn from her own experiences in Russia and Eastern Europe over the past thirty years, including conversations with senior Russian politicians and colleagues shortly before and after the invasion. She also shows that the chauvinist threat stemming from Moscow is a threat not just to Ukraine but also to liberal democracy and the rules-based world order, and she outlines steps that liberal democracies should take to counter this danger.

Using a feminist lens and bringing into sharp focus the sexism of Putin's regime and its explosive interaction with nationalism and autocracy, this book makes an important contribution to understanding both the brutal war in Ukraine and the serious threats faced by all liberal democracies today.

About the Author

Sabine Fischer is a political scientist and Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin.

Reviews
"Russia's aggression against Ukraine isn't a war in Europe, but rather a war against Europe. If doubts about this remain, read Sabine Fischer's powerful book about the causes and consequences of Putin's chauvinistic and revisionist politics."
Ivan Krastev, chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia

"Sabine Fischer's book undoubtedly stands out among the numerous publications of recent years dedicated to Putin's Russia. In order to counter the threat posed by Putinism, it is essential to describe its nature. To tackle this challenging intellectual task, Fischer chooses the concept of chauvinism, which has a long-standing tradition in Russian history. Her detailed analysis of chauvinism in relation to Putinist ideology today is crucial to understanding not only nationalist and aggressive foreign and domestic policies, but also the dangerous virus that Putinim seeks to spread throughout the rest of the world."
Irina Scherbakova, historian and chair of the Zukunft Memorial, Berlin



Book Information
ISBN 9781509567713
Author Sabine Fischer
Format Hardback
Page Count 220
Imprint Polity Press
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd