World War I did not begin in 1914 with a single assassination. Decades of alliance politics, fear, and structural change had already destabilized Europe.

Four years into the war in Ukraine, many of the justifications used to defend it collapse under historical scrutiny. From the Budapest Memorandum to NATO expansion and questions of sovereignty, this conflict is not just about territory — it is about the legitimacy of a nation and the future of the post–Cold War order.