ISSUE: 4/2025
- Volume 29
- Number 4
- 2025
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Studia Europejskie –
Studies in European Affairs
ISSN: 1428-149X
e-ISSN: 2719-3780
License
Articles published in the journal are under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial – No Derivatives 4.0 International License
Publication co-financed by Ministry of Science and Higher Education pursuant to the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science of 3 August 2021 (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1514) on the “Development of Scientific Journals” programme.
Publikacja dofinansowana przez Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie rozporządzenia Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z 3 sierpnia 2021 r. (Dz. U. z 2021 r. poz. 1514) w sprawie programu „Rozwój czasopism naukowych”.
Publication co-financed by the University of Warsaw within the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” programme.
Czasopismo otrzymało dofinasowanie w ramach Programu „Inicjatywa Doskonałości – Uczelnia Badawcza”.
The Origins of the US–Ukrainian Strategic Partnership
Abstract
This article analyses the preconditions, international and political circumstances, and the interests and objectives of the parties that led to the proclamation and formation of a strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States in the second half of the 1990s. The author’s aim is to provide a comprehensive examination of the development of US–Ukrainian relations during this period in order to clarify their political content and nature, as well as the extent to which they conformed to the declared status of a strategic partnership. The onset of NATO’s eastward enlargement and the formation of the Russian–Belarusian alliance in 1995–1996 created a potential threat that Ukraine could turn into a buffer state and face increased Russian pressure. Under these circumstances, Kyiv opted to pursue rapprochement with the West, primarily the United States, in order to strengthen its sovereignty. As a result, a patron-client partnership was established between the two countries’ leaders, and, in exchange for US geopolitical support in deterring Russia and facilitating Ukraine’s integration into Western structures, Ukraine agreed to function as a buffer between Europe and Russia. During the second half of the 1990s, the United States and Ukraine developed and reinforced asymmetric strategic relations and interdependence. Given the disparity in the geopolitical weight of the two countries, this relationship was unequal but mutually beneficial. It was further strengthened by the intensification of security cooperation, increased US economic assistance, and Ukraine’s participation in peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time, the practical content and the level of US–Ukrainian relations did not correspond to the formal designation of a strategic partnership; rather, this status served as a diplomatic veneer behind which patron-client dynamics operated.
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DOI: 10.33067/SE.4.2025.8
Language: English
Pages: 165-190
How to Cite:
Harvard
Pashkov, V. (2025) "The Origins of the US–Ukrainian Strategic Partnership". Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 4/2025, pp. 165-190. DOI: 10.33067/SE.4.2025.8