Reconceptualisations of borders in post-soviet Ukraine: Between EU regulations, the soviet legacy and internal political strife

Abstract

This chapter investigates reconceptualisations and re-institutionalisations of post-Soviet Ukraine’s borders by focusing on three dimensions: external geopolitical impacts on the reconfiguration of Ukraine’s borders; the rethinking of borders and border issues in academic debates; and the reframing of post-Soviet space and perceptions of borders by the Ukrainian government and various other political actors. The long-term geopolitical significance of Ukraine-Russia border conflicts is difficult to foresee, but it is most likely that border-related issues will increase in visibility as political relations between Russia, other post-Soviet states and the European Union become more complex. In the case of post-1991 Ukraine, border issues have emerged not only in terms of traditional border functions but also as an important factor of nation-building where historical, symbolic and geopolitical issues are closely intertwined. Academic research has a different research focus, methodology and even readership, which can be post-Soviet for publications in Ukrainian or Russian or international for those in English.