Ukraine has had favorable geopolitical situation during 30 years - political expert
KYIV. Aug 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – For 30 years of independence, Ukraine has had a favorable geopolitical situation, Vadym Karasiov, director of the Institute for Global Strategies, said.
"It seems to me that during these 30 years we had a favorable geopolitical situation. And I am not sure that the next 30 years will be as favorable as they used to be ... We often criticize external governance, but if there is no such influence in terms of observing democratic rights and freedoms, humanitarian policy, this is not a good option, because in conditions when the influence of liberal hegemony is weakening, many countries are tempted to switch or seek internal sources of survival, development and security. In the worst case scenario, a transition to an autocratic or authoritarian regime may take place," Karasiov said at a roundtable talk entitled "The 30th Anniversary of Independence. What Celebration Showed – Internal and External Dimensions," which took place at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Friday.
In turn, director of the sociological service Ukrainian Barometer Viktor Nebozhenko drew attention to the fact that two important "upward and promising" factors have matured in Ukraine for 30 years - the army and the Ukrainianness.
"They do not yet know about their socio-cultural and political role. By the socio-cultural role, I mean the emergence of new and completely surprising for the Ukrainian self-awareness of such values as pride in the country ... And I think that the Ukrainian army, gaining strength, will soon become one of the leading tools. The second is such a vague socio-cultural concept as Ukrainianness. About 60% of the Ukrainian population accepted the history of Ukraine, Ukrainian culture and the Ukrainian language as a kind of unity and their main values," Nebozhenko explained.
At the same time, he stressed that the greatest drawback of Ukrainianness is its break with moral values.
"Today, people in embroidered shirts (vyshyvankas), with excellent knowledge of the Ukrainian language, with lamps in their hands can be such thieves that others have never even dreamed of. This is a big problem - the lack of a moral core in Ukrainianness," the expert added.
At the same time, Nebozhenko noted that the factor holding back Ukraine in its development is the oligarchy, with which "every new president concludes an agreement," while the institute of the president "in our country has not fully justified itself and turned out to be not a source of reforms, stabilization and strengthening of the Ukrainian government, but turned into the greatest brake on Ukrainian political reform."
According to political expert Taras Zahorodniy, the main result of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence is the creation of a political nation.
"There is already the spirit of the nation, there are spiritualized people who value Independence, the Ukrainian flag, the Ukrainian anthem and, in particular, the Ukrainian language. But the question is where this spirit will go next. I believe that the concentration should be around the modernization of the country," noted Zahorodniy.
He is also convinced that Ukraine needs to overcome the inferiority and provincial complex, because "our army has shown that it is capable of defending the country and it is opposing Russia, which everyone in Europe is simply afraid of."
On the other hand, political expert Kostiantyn Matviyenko emphasized that Ukraine needs to adopt a new Constitution.
"As for me, the new parliamentary elections should be held with the programs of the parties, which are a new Constitution. Our Constitution is 25 years old: it has both positive and negative aspects. We have already run into problem with this Constitution, but thanks to it, two Maidans took place and a shift in power took place: when Zelensky replaced Poroshenko, this was positive for society, in terms of the dynamics of political processes. But overall, I agree that Ukraine is heading towards stagnation. Therefore, returning to the new social order, we need a new modern Constitution," he said.