Dangerous Crossroads - by Hall Gardner (Hardcover)

About the Book

Explores the global ramifications of the NATO-Russian relationship and proposes an alternative system of security for the region.

Book Synopsis

Gardner explores the global ramifications of the NATO-Russian relationship. He argues that NATO enlargement into Central Europe risks the overextension of NATO's political consensus and could provoke Russia and other states that do not expect to become full members of the alliance. He concludes by proposing an alternative system of security for the region.

Gardner explores the global ramifications of the NATO-Russian relationship. He examines NATO's Partnership for Peace initiative as it relates to Russia, and he argues that NATO risks provoking Russia and other states that do not expect to become full members of the alliance. He contends that if NATO and Russia cannot reach a compromise over a new system of security in Central and Eastern Europe, then Russia could adopt an increasingly assertive Eurasian stance by more closely aligning with potentially anti-Western states such as Belarus, China, India, Iraq, and Iran. Likewise, the possibility of a renewed division of Europe cannot be ruled out.

Gardner asserts that it is absolutely necessary to draw Russia into a concerted relationship with the United States and the European Union. He concludes by formulating a viable system of cooperative-collective security for all Central and Eastern European states backed by conjoint NATO, European, and Russian security guarantees. This is a thoughtful and provocative analysis of great interest to policymakers and students of international relations and contemporary defense issues.

Review Quotes

?[Hall's] book is comprehensive, richly documented, and equal to the task undertaken....His book is especially useful for foreign affairs and defense policymakers, academics, and advanced graduate students interested in U.S. foreign policy, national security policy, or international relations.?-The Russian Review

?Gardner's treatment reflects a balance and objectivity that can be appreciated when so much of the discourse concerning United States security policy toward Russia continues to reflect the misconceptions and predjudices of the Cold War.....Gardner offers a thoughtful alternative to existing strategies for forging a post-Cold war security structure.....Hall Gardner's Dangerous Crossroads constitutes a significant contribution devoted to resolving an issue that will shape the security structure of the entire global community into the twenty-first century.?-Slavic Review

?This book is timely material for a debate that will extend through spring 1998 as the governments of NATO countries decide whether to incorporate Poland, the Czech Repulic, and Hungary into the Atlantic Alliance.?-Choice

"ÝHall's¨ book is comprehensive, richly documented, and equal to the task undertaken....His book is especially useful for foreign affairs and defense policymakers, academics, and advanced graduate students interested in U.S. foreign policy, national security policy, or international relations."-The Russian Review

"[Hall's] book is comprehensive, richly documented, and equal to the task undertaken....His book is especially useful for foreign affairs and defense policymakers, academics, and advanced graduate students interested in U.S. foreign policy, national security policy, or international relations."-The Russian Review

"This book is timely material for a debate that will extend through spring 1998 as the governments of NATO countries decide whether to incorporate Poland, the Czech Repulic, and Hungary into the Atlantic Alliance."-Choice

"Gardner's treatment reflects a balance and objectivity that can be appreciated when so much of the discourse concerning United States security policy toward Russia continues to reflect the misconceptions and predjudices of the Cold War.....Gardner offers a thoughtful alternative to existing strategies for forging a post-Cold war security structure.....Hall Gardner's Dangerous Crossroads constitutes a significant contribution devoted to resolving an issue that will shape the security structure of the entire global community into the twenty-first century."-Slavic Review

About the Author

HALL GARDNER is Professor and Chair of the Department of International Affairs and Politics at The American University of Paris. He is the author of Surviving the Millennium: American Global Strategy, the Collapse of the Soviet Empire, and the Question of Peace (Praeger, 1994).