The War in Ukraine — Ukraine Since Independence (1991-Present)

D'Anieri explores the dynamics within Ukraine, between Ukraine and Russia, and between Russia and the West, that emerged with the collapse of the Soviet Union and eventually led to war in 2014. Proceeding chronologically, this book shows how Ukraine's separation from Russia in 1991, at the time called a 'civilized divorce', led to what many are now calling 'a new Cold War'. He argues that the conflict has worsened because of three underlying factors - the security dilemma, the impact of democratization on geopolitics, and the incompatible goals of a post-Cold War Europe. Rather than a peaceful situation that was squandered, D'Anieri argues that these were deep-seated pre-existing disagreements that could not be bridged, with concerning implications for the resolution of the Ukraine conflict. The book also shows how this war fits into broader patterns of contemporary international conflict and should therefore appeal to researchers working on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's relations with the West, and conflict and geopolitics more generally.

The last two decades have been marked by momentous changes in forms of governance throughout the post-Soviet region. Ukraine's political system, like those of other formerly socialist states of Eastern Europe, has often been characterized as being "in transition," moving from a Soviet system to one more closely aligned with Western models. Anna Fournier challenges this view, investigating what is increasingly recognized as a critical aspect of contemporary global rights discourse: the active involvement of young people living in societies undergoing radical change. Fournier delineates a generation simultaneously embracing various ideological stances in an attempt to make sense of social conditions marked by the disjuncture between democratic ideals and the everyday realities of growing economic inequality. Based on extensive fieldwork in public and private schools in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, "Forging Rights in a New Democracy" explores high-school-aged students' understanding of rights and justice, and the ways they interpret and appropriate discourses of citizenship and civic values in the educational setting and beyond. Fournier's rich ethnographic account assesses the impact on the making of citizens of both formal and informal pedagogical practices, in schools and on the streets. Chronicling her subjects' encounters with state representatives and "violent entrepreneurs" as well as their involvement in peaceful protests alongside political activists, Fournier demonstrates the extent to which young people both reproduce and challenge the liberal discourse of rights in ways that illuminate the everyday paradoxes of market democracy. By tracking students' active participation in larger contests about the nature of liberty and entitlement in the context of redefined rights, her book provides insight into emergent configurations of citizenship in the New Europe.

Gender, Politics, and Society in Ukraine is the first collection to examine how political, social, and economic transitions in post-Communist Ukraine are transforming gender roles and relations within the country. Leading Western and Ukrainian scholars and practitioners address a wide range of effects associated with and reinforced by these transitions - including the breakdown of the general welfare system, the lack of progress in the development of the healthcare system, gender inequality in political representation, the patriarchal nature of nation building, human trafficking, domestic violence, changing conceptions of fatherhood and masculinity, homelessness, and LGBT issues - from a variety of methodological and disciplinary perspectives. Gender, Politics, and Society in Ukraine is particularly innovative in its exploration of both women's and men's experiences and the ways in which gender relations shift over time in societies undergoing transitions to democracy. As such, this volume furthers the understanding of the complex obstacles and challenges of working towards gender equality in evolving democracies and identifies future priorities for research, politics, and policy development.

Post-Communist Ukraine by Bohdan Harasymiw is one of the most comprehensive and penetrating studies of the political and social realities of independent Ukraine. The masterfully written, multi-faceted analysis documents and explains that country's successes and its more frequent failures during its transition from authoritarianism to democracy. Taking a comparative approach, Bohdan Harasymiw breaks free of the usual historical-cultural mode of dealing with Ukrainian politics. Step by step, he examines the primary elements of a modern democratic state and the degree to which these are in place: an agreed-on set of rules of the game in the form of an accepted constitution; a state capable of governing and claiming the loyalty of its people; a parliament representative of the public and able to legislate; a bureaucracy skilled at fashioning and implementing public policies, and not just following orders; a nation of fellow citizens living as a community; political parties channelling the interests of, and responsive to, their followers; elections that reflect the preferences of the voters; and policies ensuring the security and well-being of both state and society. These are analyzed in the light of other countries's experience with these institutions and processes. As a result, a comprehensive portrait of Ukraine's politics, which can be characterized as "post-Communist" but not yet "post-Soviet," emerges.

Ukraine under Kuchma: Political Reform, Economic Transformation and Security Policy in Independent Ukraine is the first survey of recent developments in post-soviet Ukraine. The book covers in an in-depth manner the entire range of key developments since the 1994 parliamentary and presidential elections, the first elections held in post-soviet Ukraine. The new era ushered in by these elections led to Ukraine's launch of radical economic and political reforms which aim to domestically dismantle soviet power within Ukraine, stabilise relations with the separatist Crimean region and normalise relations with Russia and the West.