Vladimir Putin has a master plan to destroy Europe, divide NATO, reclaim Russian influence in the world, and most of all to marginalize the United States and the West in order to achieve regional hegemony and global power. Putin’s unified strategy and vision for Europe has not been thoroughly discussed or articulated in any meaningful way until now. Putin’s Master Plan is the first comprehensive attempt to systematically explain Putin’s global strategy, which could inevitably and inexorably lead to the breakup of the NATO alliance, and potentially to war with the West. Currently, the West has no strategy, no plan, and no tactics to confront Putin’s master plan other than imposing limited economic sanctions, which have done little to deter Putin’s aggression—and may well have encouraged and facilitated it. The viewpoint taken here is not just alarmism, but an accurate and, for the first time, clear and sober portrayal of a frightening situation that, more and more, serious observers of European and Russian politics are openly recognizing and acknowledging.
Putin’s Master Plan makes the case that it is essential to wake up to Putin’s strategy to destroy Europe, divide NATO, and build a new empire in the former Soviet Union. Russia has demonstrated an extraordinary level of aggression, most boldly in its outright invasions of Georgia and Ukraine. American weakness and a divided Europe have left Russia’s terrified neighbors without an alternative to Russian domination, and even once-stalwart American allies such as the Republic of Georgia are on the brink of becoming part of Putin’s new empire in Europe. Putin has made it clear that he sees NATO expansion as a fundamental threat to Russian nationhood, and he is systematically challenging the NATO Alliance as well as the United States. So far, he is winning.
Praise for Putin’s Master Plan
“Peace and security are deteriorating across Europe not only because of the heightened terrorist threat, but also because of a toxic mix of Russian belligerence and NATO weakness. In this timely analysis, Douglas Schoen argues convincingly that strengthened American leadership remains key to peace in Europe, as it has for over seventy years.”
—Ambassador John Bolton, Former US ambassador to the United Nations and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute“Putin’s Master Plan offers a fascinating and multifaceted account of Putin’s grand strategy of aggression, while lamenting the weak or even feckless response. This highly readable and well-researched book is a clarion call for Western mobilization around NATO to deter and thus defeat Russia’s hybrid warfare, arguing that NATO must get serious and America needs to lead. While criticizing President Obama’s foreign policy, it is in effect even more critical of Donald Trump’s foreign policy statements. This is an important and timely book.”
—Anders Åslund, Former economic advisor to the Russian and Ukrainian governments and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council
