A key country for stability and security in Europe, Ukraine is struggling to create consistent foreign and security policies. Political alliances, identity struggles, economic goals, and geopolitical position all pull this newly emergent state in different and often conflicting directions. Due to its dependencies on both the West and Russia, Ukraine's foreign policy is in a state of flux. To ensure stability in this newly-emergent state, the contributors to this volume argue that the West should be more assertive in offering an unambiguous developmental perspective, supporting democracy and the rule of law, and offer E.U. affiliation in the near future.
International Relations theory and Ukraine's foreign policy are examined in the first section, followed by chapters exploring civil-military relations. Next comes a look at Ukraine's foreign and security policy orientations in comparative context. The book concludes with chapters focusing on matters of national identity, ideology, and their impact on Ukrainian security policy. Scholars and analysts of contemporary Eastern European politics will be interested in what these well-known scholars and government officials have to say about the contemporary state of affairs in this pivotal nation.