UMD School of Public Policy and CISSM Associate Professor Joshua Shifrinson co-edited and co-contributed to a newly-released publication, “Evaluating NATO Enlargement: From Cold War Victory to the Russia-Ukraine War.” This book examines the history behind, impacts of, and debates surrounding NATO enlargement. Co-edited with James Goldgeier, professor of international relations at American University’s School of International Service, this volume convenes an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners to review NATO’s post-Cold War expansion into central and eastern Europe while offering a mosaic of perspectives surrounding its overall impact.
"It was a privilege to bring together an interdisciplinary and international group of scholars to tackle the topic, recognizing that a pluralist perspective - something at the core of the SPP mission - is the only way to make progress on this core international policy issue," reflects Shifrinson.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered - nominally - by the prospect of still further NATO enlargement, it’s time that the policy in all its forms be critically assessed.Joshua Shifrinson
With particular attention given to the Russia-Ukraine War and its associated policies, this book examines in detail the enlargement of NATO and its influence on U.S. foreign policy, democracy and security in central and eastern Europe. It also explores NATO’s development into a 21st century organization with global military commitments, U.S. policy toward Russia and China, and the scholarly and policy implications surrounding it. "NATO enlargement has been one of the central features of U.S. foreign policy since the Cold War ended," Shifrinson asserts. "With the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered - nominally - by the prospect of still further NATO enlargement, it’s time that the policy in all its forms be critically assessed."
Shifrinson joined SPP in 2022. His body of work covers a range of topics at the intersection of contemporary geopolitics and international security, having previously analyzed NATO expansion and nuclear grand strategy and its implications for U.S.-Russian relations. Shifrinson’s current research engages broad issues of great power politics, U.S. foreign policy, and diplomatic history.
