Ukraine: A Political Landscape (European Political, Economic, and Security Issues)

The monograph is devoted to the modern development of the Ukrainian state, which appeared on the political map after 1991. The movement to the independence of Ukraine began even before the collapse of the USSR. In the late 1980s, the Ukrainian authorities, represented by the Communists of Ukraine, began to pursue a policy aimed at isolating the republic's economic and political system from the central authorities. Such a policy in a short time transformed into a national movement, focused on the republic's withdrawal from the united Union, and the establishment of Ukraine as an independent state. The process of formation of the political elite of Ukraine, its ideological views, which for decades have determined the internal and external policies of the Ukrainian state, are explored. The book examines the factor of regional development of Ukraine, the role of the historical factor in the formation and development of the modern Ukrainian state. The territory of Ukraine is a ""mosaic"" of individual regions, which for a long time were part of different states. This factor had a huge impact on the formation of modern Ukraine, laying the inter-regional contradictions. The significance of the economic problems that Ukraine faced is analyzed. A lot of attention is given to the internal political struggle that has developed since independence. The struggle of the political elites of Ukraine at times reached violent terms, which led to internal political crises. Throughout the entire period of independent development, Ukraine was torn by internal contradictions. Issues of language, identity and culture were constantly used by the Ukrainian elites in the struggle for power. The book shows the evolution of Ukraine's foreign policy. The policy towards European integration and the expansion of relations with NATO was formed gradually, under the influence of internal and external factors. It is concluded that the foreign policy of the Ukrainian state was consistent and aimed at weakening relations with Russia. A similar policy was pursued by all Ukrainian presidents, each of whom contributed to the course of Ukraine towards rapprochement with the EU and the United States of America. In recent years, Ukraine has not been able to overcome internal contradictions. Interregional differences, the history of the formation of the Ukrainian state, continue to have a negative impact on the process of the formation of Ukraine as an independent state. The victory in the election of the new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, opened up a new stage in the development of Ukraine, which leaves a lot of room for academic discussions of the country's future.