Political Geography: Ukraine / Topic: Self Determination

Author:: Konrad Zasztowt
Publication Date:: 09-2015
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: Although it happens rarely, national governments, including those of EU countries, do sometimes hire foreign experts. In Ukraine, employing Georgians from former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration seems to be a logical move. His presidency’s biggest successes were the establishment of well-functioning police and an efficient fight against corruption, something both of which Ukraine badly needs. Other foreigners, including renowned experts such as Ukrainian American Natalie Jaresko and Lithuanian Aivaras Abromavičius, responsible for economic recovery, may be successful but face extremely difficult tasks. As all these figures are affiliated with the West in one way or another, their failure would be interpreted by pro-Kremlin media as a collapse of President Petro Poroshenko’s policies (perceived by Russia as a Western project).
Topic:: Corruption, Politics, Governance, Self Determination, and Democracy
Political Geography:: Ukraine

Author:: Robert Monyak
Publication Date:: 07-2015
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: Ukraine's economy is flagging. But a Ukrainian economy, integrated with the rest of Europe and by extension, the world economy, is essential for the country's political stability and its ability to withstand Russian aggression. While the international community is yet to develop a large-scale macro-economic assistance program on the order of the Marshall Plan, the US government can utilize existing programming through its development agencies to provide an immediate positive jolt to the private sector economy in Ukraine.
Topic:: Economics and Self Determination
Political Geography:: Ukraine

Author:: Maksymilian Czuperski, John Herbst, Eliot Higgins, Alina Polyakova, and Damon Wilson
Publication Date:: 10-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: Russia is at war with Ukraine. Russian citizens and soldiers are fighting and dying in a war of their government's own making. Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to deny Russian involvement in the fighting, but the evidence is overwhelming and indisputable. Drawing upon open source information, Hiding in Plain Sight: Putin's War in Ukraine provides irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in eastern Ukraine.
Topic:: Political Violence, War, Hegemony, and Self Determination
Political Geography:: Ukraine and Eastern Europe

Author:: Anders Åslund
Publication Date:: 11-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:: Ukraine has experienced a year of unprecedented political, economic, and military turmoil. The combination of Russian military aggression in the east and a legacy of destructive policies leading to pervasive corruption has plunged the country into an existential crisis. The West, meanwhile, has been largely paralyzed with uncertainty over how to assist Ukraine without reviving Cold War hostilities. Yet all is not lost for Ukraine. A tenuous ceasefire, along with the successful elections of President Petro Poroshenko in May and a new parliament in October offer an opportunity for economic reform. If the current ceasefire in the east holds, Ukraine has a great opportunity to break out of its vicious circle of economic underperformance. Yet, the window of opportunity is likely to be brief. The new government will have to act fast and hard on many fronts to succeed.
Topic:: Corruption, Governance, and Self Determination
Political Geography:: Russia and Ukraine

Author:: Elzbieta Kaca, Roderick Parkes, and Anita Emőke Sobják
Publication Date:: 07-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: The EU is inevitably a geopolitical player, but it seeks to avoid fulfilling this role by all means. This has resulted in increased instability in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region. In order to bring healthy political choices to its troubled eastern neighbourhood, the EU should follow a 12-point plan focusing on a more nuanced policy towards Russia, stronger regional ties between Eastern partners, tailored EU conditionalities and an integration approach better suited to EaP countries, as well as improving EU political capacities in the region.
Topic:: Self Determination, European Union, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:: Russia and Ukraine

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