Columbia International Affairs Online
CIAO DATE: 11/5/2007
A Roadmap for Ukraine’s Integration into Transatlantic Structures
June 2006
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.
The purpose of the research paper is to mediate on the abovementioned issues. It will focus primarily on the current state of Ukraine’s cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance and the challenges faced by the country in reforming its political and economic spheres, and in adjusting its defense and security sectors to the NATO standards. Thereafter, it will proceed to analyze Ukrainian perceptions of the Alliance, and the reasons upon which they are based, whilst providing recommendations of appropriate information and public diplomacy policies.
The paper will subsequently concentrate upon Ukrainian-Russian relations, a matter which is very closely connected to public opinion in Ukraine. It will focus upon the challenges to Ukrainian-Russian relations in the context of Ukraine’s future integration into the North Atlantic Alliance.
The study aims to demonstrate that despite all positive developments in 2005, Ukraine is in fact far from stable, and continues to undergo a difficult transition. A considerable degree of further transformation is required, particularly as regards economic transformation, security reform, and – most importantly – national information and PR support for the process of Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as to encourage improved relations between Ukraine and Russia.
The method used to conduct this research is system analysis. It is based upon the well-known law of interrelation and interdependence of worldwide events, which require analysis not only of sovereign systems, but also of the components of the compound system.
The sources of the study are Ukrainian and foreign professional journals and books.
