Category: Ukraine

The ‘Vegas rule’ and Selective Wilsonianism: When the West does (and doesn’t) advance democracy

     

The “Vegas rule” — what happens in a single nation stays there — “does not apply in today’s global world,” according to Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass. Greenhouse… Read more »

How Ukraine became Eastern Europe’s ‘vibrant’ democratic success

     

When the Ukrainian autocrat Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia after a popular uprising in 2014, thousands of citizens poured into Mezhyhirya, his 340-acre estate on the outskirts of Kiev, Michelle… Read more »

Democracy’s precarious position: New social contract for survival and renewal

     

The U.S. government has supported democracy for decades. While this principle has never been applied evenly—all Presidents have made compromises in the name of national security—the policy paid off with… Read more »

Zelenskiy’s Ukraine well-placed to influence, compete with Russia

     

Ukraine is “the single most important front of [the] war against authoritarian expansion,” according to Stanford University’s Francis Fukuyama. “Clearly it matters a lot to Putin that Ukraine does not… Read more »

Will a comic actor become Ukraine’s next President?

     

It seems that, on March 31, Ukraine once again received a chance to accelerate its transformation, notes Brookings analyst Sergey Aleksashenko. Ukraine hosted the first round of presidential elections, with 39… Read more »

Ukraine: from ‘oligarchic pluralism’ to real democracy?

     

A comedian and political newcomer has won (HT: Foreign Policy) the first round of Ukraine’s presidential elections. Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who portrayed himself as a fresh face who would… Read more »

What’s at stake in Ukraine’s election?

     

Ukraine votes for a president on March 31. Will the pro-Western incumbent, Petro Poroshenko, win? Or will he lose to his old foe, Yulia Tymoshenko, or wild card Volodymyr Zelenskiy?… Read more »

Oligarchs ‘suffocating’ Eastern Europe’s democracies

     

Days before the hotly contested Ukrainian presidential election on March 31, incumbent Petro Poroshenko’s party faces credible allegations of voter bribery, notes Mikheil Saakashvili, president of Georgia from 2004 until 2013…. Read more »

The Fate of Democracy: Renewal or Decay?

     

At the geostrategic level, the state of global affairs today is defined by two principal trends: the growing assertiveness of Russia and China, the two principal revisionist states; and the… Read more »

Ukraine honors democracy advocate Nadia Diuk

     

Remarks – Nadia Diuk – Ukraine’s Convoluted Transition from National Endowment for Democracy on Vimeo. Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has honored Nadia Diuk (above), Senior Advisor at the National Endowment for… Read more »