Ukraine’s foreign policy: accounting for Ukraine’s indeterminate stance between Russia and the West

Abstract

The paper is based upon the assumption that international relations theories are, and should be, complementary, not mutually exclusive. Hence, we instrumentalize insights from the realist, liberal, and constructivist schools of thought, incorporating systemic factors, state, and societal actors’ preferences and interests, and identity politics. We apply this model on Ukraine’s foreign policy. The interplay of the above‐mentioned factors accounts well for the country’s indeterminate stance between its two central foreign policy options, namely re‐alignment with Russia or incorporation into the West.