Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) has issued a report providing a net assessment of the 16 years of Ukrain`s independence. The authors of the report are Janusz Bugajski, Steven Pifer, Keith Smith, Celeste A. Wallander; contributors are Zbigniew Brzezinski, Volker Ruhe.
According to the report, the Ukrainian people and their government have accomplished much since regaining independence in 1991-in terms of political and economic reform and in building constructive foreign relations with the West and Russia.
The record is impressive, perhaps the most impressive of any state to have emerged from the defunct Soviet Union, with the exception of the Baltic nations.
There have also, however, been many shortfalls and setbacks: an inability to reach political compromises; pervasive corruption; lack of a generally accepted constitutional framework; and government intervention in markets, impeding progress toward a market economy.
This report, commissioned by the U.S.-EU Partnership Committee for Ukraine, provides a net assessment of Ukraine`s achievements and shortcomings over the last 16 years. The report examines developments in the areas of governance, economics, energy, the military, and international relations.
And it offers a series of priority recommendations for Ukraine-as well as for the European Union and the United States-in order to continue progress in those areas. The authors are:
Janusz Bugajski is director of the New European Democracies Project at CSIS.
Steven Pifer is a senior adviser in the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program and a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. [Steven Pifer is a senior advisor to the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC)]
Keith Smith is a senior associate with the CSIS Energy and National Security Program and a former U.S. ambassador to Lithuania. [Keith Smith is a senior advisor to the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC)].
Celeste A. Wallander is a senior associate with the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program and a visiting associate professor at Georgetown University.
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The US-EU Partnership Committee was announced January 22, 2007. The Committee was supported by four CSIS task forces: (1) political and economic transformation, (2) energy security, (3) Ukraine-Russian relations and (4) Euro-Atlantic integration. Morgan Williams, SigmaBleyzer, president of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), served as a member of the political and economic transformation task force chaired by Steven Pifer.
Authors: Janusz Bugajski, Steven Pifer, Keith Smith, Celeste A. Wallander Contributors: Zbigniew Brzezinski, Volker Ruhe
Publisher: CSIS, Washington, D.C.
Date of Publication: February 26, 2008
To read the report in pdf format or to order a hard copy of the report click on the following link.
