Description

Five years Ukraine after the Euromaidan Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine will hold presidential and parliamentary elections in March and October 2019 respectfully. The elections will not witness the traditional battle between ‘pro-Western’ and ‘pro-Russian’ forces because16% of pro-Russian voters and 27 election districts are under Russian occupation in the Crimea and Donbas, the Party of Regions no longer exists and the Communist Party is banned. The on-going Russia-Ukraine war in the Donbas will provide the background to an election that will resemble those held those in Europe and the US where populists face reformers. With Russian soft power in Ukraine in terminal decline, the 2019 elections will be a test of Ukraine’s reforms and European integration will prove to be irreversible by 2024.

Taras Kuzio received a BA in Economics from the University of Sussex, an MA in Soviet and East European Area Studies from the University of London, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Birmingham, England. Professor in the Department of Political Science, ‘National University’ Kyiv Mohyla Academy and Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC. His previous positions were at the University of Alberta, George Washington University, University of Toronto, and Chief of Mission to the NATO Information and Documentation Office in Ukraine. Taras Kuzio is the author and editor of seventeen books, including (with Paul D’Anieri) The Sources of Russia’s Great Power Politics: Ukraine and the Challenge to the European Order (2018), Putin’s War Against Ukraine. Revolution, Nationalism, and Crime (2017), Ukraine. Democratization, Corruption and the New Russian Imperialism (2015), From Kuchmagate to Orange Revolution (2009), and Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives on Nationalism (2007). Author of five think tank monographs, including The Crimea: Europe’s Next Flashpoint? (2010). Author of 38 book chapters and 100 scholarly articles on Ukrainian and post-communist politics, democratic transitions, colour revolutions, nationalism, and European studies. Guest Editor of Communist and Post-Communist Studies, East European Politics and Society, Demokratizatsiya, Eurasian Geography and Economics, Nationalities Papers, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, and Problems of Post-Communism.

Robert Baines is President and CEO of the NATO Association of Canada where he is focused on communicating the importance of NATO and the international-rules based order to Canadians. He was formerly Executive Director of the Canada-Albanian Business Council and Corporate Development Officer of the NATO Association. He received a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy, and History from Trinity College at the University of Toronto and an M.A. in History from York University. Robert is President of the St. George’s Society of Toronto and is involved on the Young Professionals Boards of many arts groups, including the Canadian Opera Company of which is Co-Chair. Robert is a member of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve and has received the Canadian Forces Decoration.