Ukraine: Contested Nationhood in a European Context (Europa Country Perspectives)

__Ukraine: Contested Nationhood in a European Context__ challenges the common view that Ukraine is a country split between a pro-European West and a pro-Russian East. The volume navigates the complicated cultural history of Ukraine and highlights the importance of regional traditions for an understanding of the current political situation. A key feature is the different politics of memory that prevail in each region, such as the Soviet past being presented as either a foreign occupation or a benign socialist project. The pluralistic culture of Ukraine (in terms of languages, national legacies and religions) forms a nation that faces both internal and external challenges. In order to address this fully, rather than following a merely chronological order, this book examines different interpretations of Ukrainian nationhood that have been especially influential, such as the Russian tradition, the Habsburg past and the Polish connections. Finally, the book analyses Ukraine’s political and economic options for the future. Can the desired integration into EU structures overcome the concentration of investment of power in the hands of a few oligarchs and a continuing widespread culture of corruption? Will proposals to join NATO, which garnered robust support among the populace in the aftermath of the Russian aggression, materialise under the current circumstances? Is the political culture in Ukraine sufficiently functional to guarantee democratic procedures and the rule of law? "Prior to the dramatic events of 2014 and the increase in international attention, Ukraine was often considered to be a Russian backwater with unrealistic aspirations of independence or full sovereignty. This book challenges the common view that Ukraine is a country split between a pro-European West and a pro-Russian East. The volume navigates the complicated cultural history of Ukraine and highlights the importance of regional traditions for an understanding of the current political situation. A key feature is the different politics of memory that prevail in each region, such as the Soviet past being presented as either a foreign occupation of a benign socialist project. The pluralistic culture of Ukraine (in terms of languages, national legacies and religions) forms a nation that faces both internal and external challenges. In order to address this fully, rather than following a merely chronological order, this book examines different interpretations of Ukrainian nationhood that have been especially influential, such as the Russia tradition, the Habsburg past and the Polish connections. Finally, the book analyses Ukraine's political and economic options for the future. Can the desired integration into EU structures overcome the concentration of investment of power in the hands of a few oligarchs and a continuing widespread culture of corruption? Will proposals to join NATO, which garnered robust support among the populace in the aftermath of the Russian aggression, materialise under the current circumstances? Is the political culture in Ukraine sufficiently functional to guarantee democratic procedures and the rule of law?"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of figures 7 1. Where is Ukraine? 8 Notes 14 2. How many Ukraines are there? Seeing the East-West opposition in context 15 Notes 23 3. The Russian perspective: ‘Little Russia’ in the ‘Russian World’ 25 Notes 37 4. The cultivation of the Habsburg myth in Galicia and Bukovina 39 Notes 46 5. Poland as friend and foe: From the Volhynia Massacre to the Polish initiatives for Ukraine in the EU 48 Notes 54 6. National independence and regional differences 56 Notes 63 7. History wars over the tragedies of the Soviet era 64 Notes 73 8. The Ukraine crisis: Civil war or Russian hybrid war? 75 Notes 83 9. The Ukrainian economy 84 Notes 91 10. The European Union as unwilling protector of Ukraine 92 Notes 99 11. The complicated relationship with the USA and NATO 100 Notes 105 12. Quo vadis, Ukraine? 106 Notes 110 Appendix 111 Bibliography 119 Index 120 "Based on a text originally published in Switzerland as: 'Ukraine zwischen Ost und West,' by Ulrich Schmid Ulrich Schmid, 2015, Vontobel-Stiftung