The Political System of Post-Soviet Ukraine: Constitutional Ramifications, Key Institutions, and Political Practices of the Independent Ukrainian State, 1991-2023

This collected volume offers a comprehensive analysis of Ukraine’s political system―its constitutional framework, institutional architecture, and actual political functioning. The contributors explore the tension between formal institutions and informal mechanisms that define governance in Ukraine. The study pays particular attention to the Ukrainian semi-presidential model, as well as the functioning of the parliament, government, judiciary, political parties, and electoral institutions. The volume also addresses critical challenges of current resilience building and future post-war reconstruction. Applying a neo-institutionalist approach, the volume integrates rational choice, sociological, and historical perspectives. In particular, it highlights the impact of non-political actors―civil society, mass media, and financial-industrial groups―on the transformation of the political landscape.
The volume’s contributors are Olena Andreieva, Rostyslav Balaban, Tetyana Bevz, Svitlana Brekharya, Nataliya Kononenko, Tetyana Lyashenko, Oleksandr Mayboroda, Vitaliy Pereveziy, Oleg Rafalskiy, Svitlana Sytnyk, Yuriy Yakymenko, and Galyna Zelenko.

Prof. Galyna Zelenko, Dr. Sc., is a Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and Deputy Director of Research at the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies. She also serves as Vice President of the Ukrainian Political Science Association and is a Member of the Council of the International Political Science Association. Zelenko is the author of numerous scholarly publications on political institutions in Ukraine and post-communist transformations.

Prof. Oleg Rafalskiy is Director of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine