This book analyses the expansion of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into the post-Soviet space after the end of the Cold War. Based on an extensive analysis of the literature and government documents, including doctrines, statements and speeches by the most influential decision-makers and other actors, it sheds new light on the geopolitical and geostrategic context of the expansion of the military alliance, and assesses its impact on international security relations in Europe. 

The first chapter introduces readers to the neo-realist approach and develops the methodological basis of the book. The following chapters provide a historical overview of the causes and consequences of two waves of eastward NATO enlargement. Special attention is paid to the annexation of the Crimea and to Russian hybrid-asymmetric warfare. Finally, thirty years after the end of the Cold War, the book notes a disturbing return to militarization in international security relations. To counter this process, the author calls for a reduction of current international tensions and a new policy of détente.

本书分析了冷战结束后北大西洋公约组织（NATO）向后苏联地区的扩张。基于对文献和政府文件的广泛分析，包括最有影响力的决策者和其他行为者的理论、声明和讲话，本书对该军事联盟扩张的地缘政治和地缘战略背景进行了新的阐述，并评估了其对欧洲国际安全关系的影响。

第一章向读者介绍了新现实主义方法，并发展了该书的方法论基础。接下来的几章对北约两波东扩的原因和后果进行了历史回顾。特别关注了克里米亚的吞并和俄罗斯的混合不对称战争。最后，在冷战结束30年后，本书注意到国际安全关系中令人不安的军事化回归。为了应对这一进程，作者呼吁减少当前的国际紧张局势，并采取新的缓和政策。