Russian & Soviet History, Russian & Soviet History, Eastern European History

Contemporary Ukraine : Dynamics of Post-Soviet Transformation

Name: Contemporary Ukraine : Dynamics of Post-Soviet Transformation
Author: Taras Kuzio
ISBN: 9780765602237

by Taras Kuzio

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Overview

In terms of population size, economic resources, and historic importance, Ukraine was second only to Russia among the Soviet republics. Yet its viability as an independent state seemed problematic, not least because of its long-established role as Russia's "junior partner" in ruling the USSR; the complex cultural heritage of its history as a borderland of empires; and its reluctance to embark upon economic reform even as it sought political connection with the West. Thus the irony that Ukraine, although the last of the post-Soviet states to adopt a new constitution, is arguably the first to establish a democratic precedent for transfer of executive power to the opposition.

With strong international contributors writing on central questions, this is the best current survey of the Ukrainian transition, with attention to: state building; national identity; political, economic, and social development; and security issues.

Synopsis

Exploring the post-Communist transition that has taken place in the Ukraine, this text covers: nation and state building; national identity and regionalism; politics and civil society; economic transition; and security policy.

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Editorials

Booknews

From a June 1996 conference in Birmingham, England, 13 studies look at the difficulties encountered in Ukraine while attempting to construct a nation, build a state, democratize, and marketize. They explore such dimensions as prospects for stability, regionalism and ethnic and linguistic cleavages, the politics of making a constitution, the legacies of central planning and the transition to a market economy, and the relationship between domestic and external factors. A bibliography of selected secondary sources augments the notes of the papers. Paper edition (unseen) $26.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.