Individual Democratic Institutions Research Fellowships 1994-1996

The research reports reproduced here are the responsibility of the individual authors. Their reproduction does not imply any form of official or unofficial endorsement by NATO. The reports are offered in unedited form, as presented by their authors, with a view to make their findings available to a wide audience. Ukraine And European Security - International Mechanisms As Non-Military Options For National Security Of Ukraine. Bohdan Lupiy [Back to Index] Chapter 4. "Evolutionary" Approach" - Ukraine And European International Establishments. Section 2 Ukraine and OSCE 2.1. Initial Steps Productive and profitable state's foreign policy requires credible domestic institutions and effective diplomatic corp to operate effectively within international security design. It seems to be very factual, when describing the participation of many newly independent Eastern European states in the activities of international organizations. The experience of recent years has definitely shown, that creation of respective foreign ministries in Eastern European States has been often coincided with certain difficulties, and particularly with personnel's proficiency. Even Central European countries, which entered the post-Cold War period with comparatively developed foreign policy apparatuses, find themselves in situation where, for instance the "CSCE activities are known neither to the general public journalists, politicians nor to parliamentarians. [And]... even foreign Ministry officials know little about them if they are not directly working in the respective department".(233) On the other hand, while foreign ministry's staff difficulties in Ukraine, as well as in other CEE states are serious in the short transitional phase, a more essential question is whether Ukraine has a special long-term interest in the processes of international organizations, and especially OSCE as a regional cooperative security organization, to gain the protection of its independence; or else should Kiev regard its contribution to the OSCE workings as symbolic participation, in order to be appropriately accepted by international community? This is the essentual question of the given section. Ukraine became a member of the CSCE, after the CSCE Prague Summit of January 1992.(234) This date was preceded by two years of difficult workings on proper international recognition of Ukraine. It also became a test case for country's independence. Following the demands of the Baltic Republics to enter the CSCE in 1990,(235) Ukraine also announced its desire to join the Conference in Autumn 1990, but in fact, it approved participation only within the Soviet delegation.(236) Similarly to the Baltic states, Ukraine's major motivation to join the CSCE was foremost, esteem of it as a fundamental connection to Western Europe.(237) With gaining full CSCE membership, Ukrainian government however, considered its primary interest in the Conference, in regard to only two issues - the inviolability of frontiers and problems related to the confidence-building regime. At the same time, Ukraine has choose not to employ other CSCE procedures for a variety of reasons, which this section will also try to identify. In fact, Ukraine's primary gains in the CSCE/OSCE process must be understood as the consequence of previously mentioned disputes with neighbouring states, e.g. with Russia and Romania, as well as problems related to the questions of building of its Armed Forces - quite usual issues in today's CIS, where Ukraine and other newly independent states are understandably aware of risk posed to their sovereignty by politically unstable Russia.