Ukraine in Europe: Controversies, complexities and agency of a multifaceted interconnection

Europe and Ukrainian European identity have long been an important topic in Ukraine, especially in view of the many political, social, economic and cultural interdependencies in the past and present. On the other hand, Ukraine has been in a marginal position for a long time, at least from a Western European perspective. Today, Ukrainian-European entanglements are being researched more and more intensively, not least with a view to Ukraine's European integration.

However, with the Russian War of aggression against Ukraine entering its fourth year in 2025, and new political leadership in the United States as well as in some European countries, the issue of Ukrainian membership in the European Union has gained new momentum. More imminent than previously, EU membership for Ukraine could be part of a broader deal to end the war, but integration is not a foregone conclusion either. Against this background, the analysis of Ukrainian-European relations, cooperation, conflicts, cultural references and dynamics, both in relation to Europe as a whole and to the European Union, is the focus of research at the KIU in the summer semester of 2025.

Read KIU publications related to this semester.

On 30 June and 1 July, the conference ‘The Civil Sphere in Central and Eastern Europe’ took place at the European University Viadrina. It featured presentations and discussions with scholars from Europe and the United States, focusing on case studies from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, and post-socialist East Germany. The conference explored the roots of distinctive civic and social dynamics in the region and examined their implications for contemporary political developments and Europe's broader geopolitical context.