European Integration of Ukraine: Testing Liberal Intergovernmentalism Approach [before doctoral defense]

Kivonat, rövid leírás

Ukraine's relations with the European Union represent a unique case for European integration studies, especially in light of its recent application for EU membership. Despite serious challenges such as the war with Russia, political instability and economic difficulties, Ukraine's integration with the EU continues to strengthen. This dissertation aims to identify the key motivations driving Ukraine's integration with the EU at both the governmental and societal levels. The choice of Ukraine as a case study in this research, which focuses on its path to integration into the European Union through the prism of a Liberal intergovernmental mechanism, is relevant for several reasons. First, Ukraine's geographic location between Russia and the European Union makes its European integration process a unique and important example for understanding the broader dynamics of EU enlargement. Since 2004, Ukraine has pursued integration with the European Union. At the same time, Ukraine's aspirations to join European institutions have become a key challenge to Russian influence in the region, providing a rich context for studying the interplay between the formation of Ukrainian national preferences, international negotiations with Russia and the EU, and institutional arrangements with them. Second, the Ukrainian case is also historically significant because Ukraine's European integration has been a long process and has been marked by two important events: the Orange Revolution (2004) and the subsequent Euromaidan (2013-2014), both of which reflected public demands for rapprochement with Europe. After Euromaidan, Ukraine's choice in favour of Europe became apparent, leading to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. But despite serious challenges such as the war with Russia, political instability, and economic difficulties, Ukraine's integration with the EU continues to strengthen, raising the question of why Ukraine remains steadfast in its European choice despite the political and humanitarian consequences for the country.