Ukraine and Europe challenges the popular perception of Ukraine as a country torn between Europe and the east. Twenty-two scholars from Europe, North America, and Australia explore the complexities of Ukraine's relationship with Europe and its role the continent's historical and cultural development. Encompassing literary studies, history, linguistics, and art history, the essays in this volume illuminate the interethnic, interlingual, intercultural, and international relationships that Ukraine has participated in. The volume is divided chronologically into three parts: the early modern era, the 19th and 20th century, and the Soviet/post-Soviet period. Ukraine in Europe offers new and innovative interpretations of historical and cultural moments while establishing a historical perspective for the pro-European sentiments that have arisen in Ukraine following the Euromaidan protests.

This book surveys the Ukrainian-EU relationship in light of the legacies of more than two hundred years of direct Russian rule. It examines interrelationships between identities, loyalties and political/cultural orientations, reviews policies, and identifies salient forces and trends.

by Viktor A. Yushchenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine The intensification of the integration processes on our continent entirely coincides with the national interests of Ukraine, a country which is undoubtedly European both geographically and politically. What kind of Europe do we now have, and what should it be in the future? What should the role of Ukrainian society be in the economic, social, and cultural integration of the countries on the European continent? These questions are the subject of research and scientific analysis by the well-known economists whose work is contained in this book. Let there be no doubt, the strategic goal of Ukraine's foreign policy is the active participation of our country in the European integration process. Thus, the move toward co-operation and gradual integration with the European Union was defined as one of the main priorities of the Ukrainian Government's programme "Reforms for Well-being", which is based on President Leonid Kuchma's speech "Ukraine: Steps into XXI century" and was approved by the Ukrainian Parliament. This move is not a hasty response to a new trend, but rather a pragmatic decision since the EU will define the face of Europe for the next century.

The concept of a 'return to Europe' has been integral to the movement for Ukrainian national rebirth since the nineteenth century. While the goal of a more fully reformed politics remains elusive, numerous expressions of Ukrainian culture continue to develop in the European spirit. This wide-ranging book explores Ukraine's European cultural connection, especially as it has been reestablished since the country achieved independence in 1991. The contributors discusses many aspects of Ukraine's contemporary culture - history, politics, and religion in Part I; literary culture in Part II; and language, popular culture, and the arts in Part III. What emerges is a fascinating picture of a young country grappling with its divided past and its colonial heritage, yet asserting its voice and preferences amid the diverse and at times conflicting realities of the contemporary political scene. Europe becomes a powerful point of reference, a measure against which the situation in post-independence Ukraine is gouged and debated. This framework allows for a better understanding of the complexities deeply ingrained in the social fabric of Ukrainian society.

This book addresses the complex origins of the Ukrainian crisis. It places the crisis in a longer-term perspective and shows how the domestic political regime interpreted, balanced and eventually chose between the competing integration offers of Russia and the EU. It also explores the key implications for Ukraine's relations with the EU and Russia.

This book examines how, within foreign policy, perceptions are a reflection of an actor’s conception of status, credibility and legitimacy, within the context of EU–Ukraine relations and the Ukraine crisis.

Ukraine has emerged as a new factor on the European security scene since 1991, and this book explores the ramifications of that development. It lays out the views of leading North American, West European, and Ukrainian security analysts on European security issues during the next decade and their priority, strategies for approaching these issues, Ukraine's role in European security, and the Atlantic Community and Ukraine's security. Then it compares these views and assesses the implications of the complex pattern of similarities and differences in perspective.

This book examines the feasibility, content and likely economic impact of a free trade agreement between the European Union and Ukraine. The authors find that a simple and shallow free trade agreement, adding only the elimination of tariffs on trade in goods to the conditions for Ukraine's accession to the WTO, is the most easily feasible option, but would yield only modest benefits for Ukraine and less still for the EU. By contrast, they argue that a deep free trade agreement with the EU, while posing more difficult issues of feasibility, could be a centerpiece of an economic strategy leading Ukraine into rapid growth. Politically, this step would be consistent with Ukraine's European choice and would also be of value to the EU economy in meeting the challenges of globalization and Asian competition. Contributors include T. Huw Edwards (Loughborough University), Ildar Gazizullin, Vira Nanivska, and Olga Shumylo (International Centre for Policy Studies, Kyiv), Daniel Müller-Jentsch (European Commission/World Bank Office for South-East Europe), Matthias Lücke (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), Valeriy Pyatnytskiy (First Deputy Minister of Economy and European Integration, Ukraine), Andreas Schneider (CEPS), Rainer Schweickert (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), and Olexandr Shevtsov (United Nations Development Program, Ukraine).