ABSTRACT

The development of Ukrainian civil society and multiparty parliamentary politics has been dominated by four issues. First were the twin legacies of external rule and totalitarianism impose substantial barriers to the development of civil society. Second was the fact that the largest political party in Ukraine, the Communist Party, is as much Russian as Ukrainian in its nationalism leads to the prioritization by some democratic parties of the "defense of statehood" over political and economic reform. Third was the political reform that has developed slowly, with a constitution only adopted in June 1996. Finally, it remains questionable whether Ukraine's ruling elites favour a robust civil society, independent media, the rule of law, and strong political parties. The chapter considers politics, democratization, and civil society in Ukraine within a theoretical framework. It examines the evolution of Ukraine's civil society since the late Soviet era, the creation of a multiparty system and parliamentary politics in post-Soviet Ukraine.