“We are more a part of Europe than… Than… Than what?” : Making sense of Ukraine’s place in Europe after the Revolution of Dignity

Abstract: The issue of Ukrainian EU membership was highlighted during the 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity, when Ukrainians emerged on to the streets to protest against then-President Yanukovych’s refusal to sign his country’s Association Agreement with the European Union. Since then, the country has started moving closer to Europe, seemingly as supported by a majority of its population. Meanwhile, Russia has occupied Crimea, and there is a war in the Donbas region of the East. The thesis argues that there are no major regional differences when it comes to attitudes towards the European Union in Ukraine. Some differences could be noted in the South relating to the participants’ attitudes toward Ukrainian independence and travels to non-communist countries during the Soviet era, but this had no apparent connection to attitudes towards the Ukrainian state and the European Union today. Overall, the participants were positive to EU membership for Ukraine, as well as NATO membership, and to these organisations overall. The desire to join NATO seems to be out of a desire to obtain hard security against Russia, and the desire to join the EU seems to both be because of the symbolic value for Ukraine’s status as a ‘truly’ European country, as well as for the developmental benefits.