Трансформація зовнішньої політики України: європейсько-атлантичний аспект (1991–2015)

Abstract

Дисертація присвячена комплексному дослідженню трансформації зовнішньої політики України до європейсько-атлантичного інтеграційного процесу. Визначено основні передумови та проблеми становлення України як суб’єкта нової системи міжнародних відносин. Проаналізовано особливості становлення та розвитку зовнішньої політики України в контексті балансування між геополітичним трикутником США–ЄС–РФ. Досліджено динаміку та характерні тенденції відносин України з ЄС і НАТО в контексті європейсько- атлантичної інтеграції. Визначено основні геополітичні імперативи європейсько-атлантичного аспекту трансформації зовнішньої політики України. Доведено, що європейсько-атлантичний вектор в умовах протистояння російській агресії залишається ключовим і безальтернативним інструментарієм збереження суб’єктності України в міжнародних відносинах.

Диссертация посвящена комплексному исследованию трансформации внешней политики Украины к европейско-атлантическому интеграционному процессу. Определены основные предпосылки и проблемы становления Украины как субъекта новой системы международных отношений. Проанализированы особенности становления и развития внешней политики Украины в контексте балансирования между геополитическим треугольником США–ЕС–РФ. Исследована динамика и характерные тенденции отношений Украины с ЕС и НАТО в контексте европейско-атлантической интеграции. Определены основные геополитические императивы европейско- атлантического аспекта трансформации внешней политики Украины. Доказано, что европейско-атлантический вектор в условиях противостояния российской агрессии остается ключевым и безальтернативным инструментарием сохранения субъектности Украины в международных отношениях.

The thesis is devoted to the complex analysis of the European-Atlantic aspect of the transformation of Ukraine’s foreign policy. The historical and geopolitical preconditions and the main stages of formation of the foreign policy course of Ukraine are highlighted. The analysis of foreign political potential of our state and its place in geopolitical concepts is carried out. The author proposes a differentiated periodization of the foreign policy of independent Ukraine based on the geopolitical priorities of Ukraine in international politics and the main achievements and calculations in the implementation of the foreign policy course. The main tendencies and problems of the formation of legal and institutional support for realization of the foreign policy course of our state are revealed. The main directions and peculiarities of Ukraine’s subjectivization in international relations are outlined. The author focuses on the peculiarities of the transformation of the political regime in Ukraine after August 24, 1991 and their influence on the formation of a foreign policy strategy. The main geopolitical obstacles of legitimization of Ukraine in the international arena are singled out. The interdependence between nuclear disarmament of Ukraine and the distribution of the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR, which constituted a complex set of geopolitical problems, was proved, the solution of which depended on the subjectivity of our state in international relations and security and stability on the European continent. Ukraine, having inherited the third nuclear potential, has tried to convert the rejection of it to the maximum political, security and financial advantages. While the US and Russia, acting as situational allies, tried to minimize Ukraine’s claims for security guarantees and material compensation. Russia perceived Ukraine’s independence as a temporary phenomenon and tried to prevent the Kyiv’s distancing from the integration projects of Moscow aimed at the reintegration of the USSR. For the United States, the priority was to resolve nuclear issues and prevent the emergence of new nuclear powers, which is why Washington was trying to push Moscow and Kyiv to mutual concessions in the field of nuclear disarmament and distribution of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Taking into account the threat of Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea, which was conditioned by Moscow’s active support for separatist sentiment on the peninsula, the Ukrainian authorities agreed to hand over to Russia its fleet of the former USSR, which allowed the transition to a solution to the issues of material compensation for nuclear charges. The emergence of a post-bipolar system of international relations required new states, which sought to become its subjects, active actions to adapt to a new geopolitical reality. The toolkit for solving these tasks was the formation and implementation of the European-Atlantic vector of Ukraine’s foreign policy, which foresaw the establishment and intensification of cooperation with the leaders of the new system of international relations of the EU and the US, and hence NATO as the key mechanism of foreign policy in Europe. Ukraine has become the first post-Soviet state to conclude a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU and has joined the NATO Partnership for Peace. However, in the context of transforming the system of international relations into a polycentric model, Ukraine’s multi-vector foreign policy was losing its effectiveness, as it could not ensure further geopolitical balancing between the West and the Russian Federation. The author considers the activation of the course on European-Atlantic integration as a non-alternative instrument for preserving Ukraine’s subjectivity in international relations. The influence of the weakening of the geopolitical importance of the USA, fragmentation within the EU and the strengthening of the Russian Federation on the unwillingness of the West to offer Ukraine a prospect of membership in the EU and NATO are analyzed. The lack of consensus among the Ukrainian political elite concerning the necessity of identifying the main path of the state’s development in conjunction with internal political confrontations and the dominance of corporate interests over the national ones greatly complicated the implementation of the course on European-Atlantic integration of our state. The final and non-alternative transformation of Ukraine’s foreign policy towards the European-Atlantic integration process is due to Russian aggression. The war in the East of Ukraine goes far beyond the bilateral inter-state conflict and has the character of the continental (EU–RF) and global (West–Russian) confrontation. As a result, a crisis of international order took place, which could only be overcome by reforming the basic international security institutions, in particular the UN Security Council.