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362. Making a Difference - Why and how Europe should increase its engagement in Ukraine
- Author:
- Arkady Moshes
- Publication Date:
- 06-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The fate of the transformation in Ukraine is important for Europe. If successful, Ukraine could positively affect the prospect of the systemic change in Russia and would serve as a linchpin of democratization and stabilization in the region stretching from Belarus to the Caspian Sea. A reformed and economically transparent Ukraine could play a significant role in Europe's strategy of diversifying its energy supplies. Since the Orange revolution, Ukraine has demonstrated progress in its reforms. The parliamentary elections in March 2006 confi rmed that the majority of the population remained supportive of further change. All in all, the country has a fair chance of succeeding. At the same time, the challenges are many and the transformation could still fail or stall, particularly if in Europe the reforms are viewed predominantly as a domestic Ukrainian issue, a “homework” rather than as a joint endeavour. European engagement in Ukraine should increase further. Europe could do more to transfer its expertise in transition and adaptation, to help Ukraine address its energy concerns and to make sure that the bilateral relations go beyond cooperation and develop into an integration pattern. Depending on the progress made, the question of Ukraine's EU membership might have to be addressed sooner or later as it has proved to be the most powerful tool for transformation.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
363. The Jamestown Foundation: Eurasia Daily Monitor
- Publication Date:
- 08-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Abstract:
- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has decided not to disband parliament. Instead, he nominated Viktor Yanukovych, who lost the presidential election to him in December 2004, for prime minister. These were the only two options that Yushchenko faced after the Orange coalition between his Our Ukraine bloc and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc fell apart in early July, and the left-of-center majority of Yanukovych' Party of Regions, the Socialists, and the Communists nominated Yanukovych for prime minister. Our Ukraine is now joining the majority; Tymoshenko, having dismissed the compromise between Yushchenko and Yanukovych as “betrayal,” goes into the opposition.
- Topic:
- Security and Ethnic Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Eurasia, and Ukraine
364. A Roadmap for Ukraine's Integration into Transatlantic Structures
- Author:
- Oksana Kozlovska
- Publication Date:
- 06-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- NATO Defense College
- Abstract:
- Ukraine's return to Europe, or in other words the process of its becoming a member of key international organizations – namely the EU and NATO – appeared to be complicated, lasting and far from any romantic notions. Besides the need for consensus from society as a whole and from the Ukrainian leadership, appropriate governmental and parliamentary decisions were also required; these factors demonstrating the necessity of serious, internal changes in all spheres of state activity. In practical terms, the basis for these requirements remains to be established: a mutual understanding of key questions of state life, national and international security, internal and foreign policy priorities.
- Topic:
- International Relations, NATO, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
365. Relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus the present conditions, status quo and perspectives
- Author:
- Andrzej Szeptycki
- Publication Date:
- 03-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus are two important neighbours of Poland and the European Union, naturally separating them from Russia. After gaining independence in 1991, they faced the choice between re-integration with Russia or strengthening their own statehood and position in the international arena. In the mid-1990s, Belarus decided to choose the first option, whereas Ukraine, though it did not resign from cooperation with Russia, strove to develop an independent foreign policy and tighten its contacts with the Euro-Atlantic structures. Over the last 14 years, the two states have not attached excessive importance to bilateral relations, also researchers have not shown much interest in the issue.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Ukraine
366. Further Towards Post-Communism? From 'Left' to Regions in Ukraine
- Author:
- Geir Flikke and Sergey O. Kisselyov
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- This paper is based on an analysis of electoral support to left-wing movements of parties and blocs in Ukraine from 1998 to 2006. It argues that traditional left-wing ideologies and thereby the position of the left-wing parties have eroded in the political landscape of Ukraine. The authors hold that this is due not only to the decline of traditional left-wing ideologies in Ukraine's electorate, but also to the return of a strong managed party for the Eastern regions of the country.
- Topic:
- Development and Government
- Political Geography:
- Ukraine and Eastern Europe
367. Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic Ambitions: Building an Effective Policy Coordination Process
- Author:
- F. Stephen Larrabee, Jeffrey Simon, Jan Neutze, and Steven Pifer
- Publication Date:
- 02-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Since his inauguration in January 2005, Ukrainian President Viktor Yush-chenko has repeatedly stated that his foremost foreign policy goal is his country's integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. “Joining Europe” today, be it preparing a country for a bid to enter the European Union or NATO, is an extraordinarily complex business. It will require the development of a consensus on a Euro-Atlantic policy course among the country's political leadership. It will also require an effective and coherent policy coordination structure. As the experience of other Eastern European countries has demonstrated, integration into the European Union or NATO is not just the responsibility of the foreign and defense ministries. It also requires coordination with the ministries of economy, justice, agrarian policy, transportation and communications, internal affairs – indeed, virtually every ministry in the Ukrainian Cabinet.
- Topic:
- International Relations and NATO
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Asia
368. Recent Commentary: Viktor's Choice - Who Will Form Ukraine's Parliamentary Majority?
- Author:
- Steve Pifer
- Publication Date:
- 04-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- What a difference a year makes. The 2004 Ukrainian presidential election entailed massive fraud, sent hundreds of thousands of protesters into the streets, and sparked a revolution. The March 26 parliamentary elections, by contrast, were strikingly calm and ordinary. The Orange Revolution's main hero, President Viktor Yushchenko, saw his party, Our Ukraine, come in a disappointing third. He nevertheless remains in the driver's seat in deciding who will make up the ruling coalition in the next Rada (parliament).
- Topic:
- Civil Society and Government
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Asia
369. American Exceptionalism
- Author:
- James Q. Wilson
- Publication Date:
- 08-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
- Abstract:
- When President George W. Bush said that America hopes to spread democracy to all the world, he was echoing a sentiment many people support. Though Americans do not put “extending democracy” near the top of their list of foreign policy objectives (preventing terrorism is their chief goal), few would deny that if popular rule is extended it would improve lives around the world. Democracy, of course, means rule by the people. But the devil is in the details. By one count, the number of democracies quintupled in the second half of the twentieth century, but there are freedom- loving and freedom-disdaining democracies. Fareed Zakaria calls the latter “illiberal democracies.” Among them are Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, United States, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Venezuela
370. Parties of Power as Roadblocks to Democracy: The Cases of Ukraine and Egypt
- Author:
- Madalena Resende and Hendrik Kraetzschmar
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Political parties are the backbone of any functioning representative democracy. They are the agents that compete in the political arena for public office by offering programmatic alternatives to voters. It is not surprising therefore that an analysis of countries that have failed to democratise shows political parties suffering from a severe pathology that renders them weak institutions. In both the eastern and the southern neighbourhood of the EU, a type of party has emerged, the 'party of power' characterised by its dependence on the state, the absence of ideology and the linkage with specific sectoral groups. Examples of such parties can be found in Ukraine during the reign of President Kuchma and in present-day Egypt.
- Topic:
- Democratization
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Egypt