Why Ukraine Matters: Five Years after Euromaidan
The failure of building a democratic, rule of law-based state in Ukraine can lead to disastrous consequences for the country and the region, not to mention the long-term hopes of a democratic future in Russia.
Performed activity
Espacio Bertelsmann, Calle O'Donnell 10, Madrid
CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs), the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Madrid and the Representation of the European Commission in Spain within the framework of the Espacio Bertelsmann’s series “Diálogos Internacionales”
A new stage unfolds in Ukraine. The country is facing yet another decisive period in the last five years. Ukrainians have voted massively for a new president, a newcomer to the political scene, and they have redesigned the previous Rada in the same way. In a semi-presidential system such as the Ukrainian, much depends on the balance of power in the parliament and its relationship with the executive and the president. Now, for the first time in the independent Ukraine, the three institutions are in the hands of one leader and his party.
Three major factors continue to determine the prospects of building a rule of law-based and stable Ukraine, and addressing the challenges the country’s economy is facing: the progress of domestic reforms towards a state accountable to its citizens, Russia’s actions regarding the situation in the insurgent area of the Donbass and the scope of European Union support to Ukrainians’ democratic struggle.
The failure of building a democratic, rule of law-based state in Ukraine can lead to disastrous consequences for the country and the region, not to mention the long-term hopes of a democratic future in Russia. Considering that regional and European stability is at stake every time a potential change of government takes place in one of the area’s countries, the political nature of the Ukrainian regime remains a key factor.