A European Ukraine: answering the membership question

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has made significant strides in moving away from an increasingly authoritarian Russia. Despite efforts to remain in Russia’s sphere of influence by some Ukrainian leaders, the Ukrainian people have been successful in their demands for democracy and integration with Europe. Considering Ukraine’s progress in Europeanization, the potential for membership is becoming an increasingly pertinent question. In this thesis, I will determine if, or under what conditions, Ukraine can become a European Union (EU) member state. I aim to identify Ukraine’s barriers to European Union membership, and how significant and relevant those barriers are to the process. I will evaluate the accessions of previous member states to better understand what the EU has identified as problems and possible solutions. Overall, I find compelling evidence to support Ukraine’s possible membership in the EU, particularly during the dramatic changes of the war.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

European Union Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Clemens, Lauren

Contributors dc:contributor

• Skalnik Leff, Carol
• Larson, Jonathan

• Ukraine
• EU
• Russia
• Cyprus
• corruption
• energy
• democratic backsliding

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Lauren Clemens

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116260

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116260