[12.05.09] Ukraine: At Centre Stage With or Without Europe?
The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs has the great pleasure of inviting you to the conference:
Ukraine: At Centre Stage With or Without Europe?
Since the so-called Orange Revolution in 2004, Ukraine has occupied a distinct place in the debate about wider Europe. Ukraine is a core country for the EU’s neighbourhood policy (ENP), a central actor in the Black Sea region and also within several sub-regional arrangements of states. It has a bilateral relationship with NATO in the joint working group for defence reform, and a security strategy that has singled out integration with the West as a core priority. Moreover, in 2006 and 2009, Ukraine’s significance for European energy security was highlighted. As security of supply has become the insecurity of supply, this role seems even more important. Finally, Ukraine took, starting in 2004, an unfinished leap from a presidential system to a semi-presidential system, still without resolving the central issues of power sharing, but making substantial moves towards a new political system.
The aim of this conference is to highlight the challenges facing not only Ukraine, but the understanding of wider Europe. International and Norwegian experts will discuss Ukraine’s European and transatlantic relations, issues of energy security and security sector reforms, and the domestic dimensions of Ukrainian politics, all in departing from the assertion that Ukraine in many aspects occupies centre stage in today’s wider Europe.
Programme
:
09.00 – 09.10: Opening remarks (Geir Flikke, NUPI)
Panel 1: Ukraine in Wider Europe (09.10 - 11.00)
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Ukraine at Europe’s Cross-Roads.
James Sherr (Chatham House) -
The European Union and Ukraine: The Making of an Ideal Neighbour?
Kataryna Wolzcuk (University of Birmingham) - Discussant: Jakub Hedenskog (FOI)
- Qs and A's
11.00 – 11.15 Coffee Break
Panel 2: Domestic Reforms and Dependencies (11.15 - 12.45)
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Political Culture and Regionalism: Reform in Ukraine Since the Orange Revolution
Taras Kuzio (George Washington University) -
The Ukrainian Military in the Wake of the Russia – Georgia War.
Tor Bukkvoll (Norwegian Defence Research Establishment): - Discussant: Jakub Godzimirski (NUPI)
- Qs and A's
12.45 – 13.45: Lunch
Panel 3: Domestic Policies: Uncertainties or Predictability? (13.45 - 15.15)
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The Party of Regions, its Evolution and Presidential Elections
Oleksii Haran (NaUKMA): -
Power Sharing and the Institutionalization of Uncertainties.
Geir Flikke (NUPI): - Discussant: Margarita Balmaceda (University of Helsinki)
- Qs and A's
15.15: End Conference