Ukraine and the west: Moving from stability to strategic engagement

Abstract

This article surveys the West's engagement with Ukraine during the last decade and argues in support of a more robust, coherent and committed policy towards Ukraine. The West's ambivalent policy towards Ukraine was matched by Ukraine's amorphous and declaratory policy towards integration into Trans‐Atlantic and European structures. This weakly defined foreign policy was matched by an unclear commitment domestically to reform. The article is divided into six sections that cover Ukraine's strategic importance to the West and the rise of geopolitical pluralism in the post‐Soviet space. It then surveys Ukraine's reform record and the role of national identity in Ukraine's foreign policy. The article also discusses the ambivalence in both Western policy towards Ukraine and Ukraine's policy towards ‘returning to Europe’. Finally, the article makes six policy recommendations for Western governments to increase their strategic engagement with Ukraine.