Ukraine’s State and Society

This course examines the patterns and dynamic of interactions between the state and society in Ukraine, and the effects of the Russian invasion. We address historical legacies of totalitarian occupations by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, drawing comparisons with the current Russian occupation of Ukraine. We analyze nation-building processes after the Soviet collapse, focusing on the role of civil society. The course discusses the 2013-14 Ukrainian Maidan Revolution as a grassroots movement that challenged state-imposed repressive terms of legality and successfully re-established a democratic social contract. Finally, we examine the causes of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the nature of atrocities committed by Russian forces, and the multi-faceted character of Ukrainian social resistance. To analyze these developments in Ukraine, we engage major political science perspectives, namely structuralism, constructivism, and rational choice.