The Clinton Administration’s Policy of Democracy Promotion in Ukraine (1993–2001)

What is it about?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has ensured that the war there is dominating the Biden administration’s foreign policy. The ramifications of Ukrainian independence and its efforts to forge an alliance with the West has its roots in the 1990s and a series of decisions made during the Clinton administration. Did its insistence on promoting democracy in the former communist state provoke President Putin’s attempt to reestablish political control over the erstwhile satellite? This paper examines the challenges the Clinton administration faced in its efforts to instigate its grand strategy of Engagement and Enlargement, and in particular, the policy of democracy promotion, as it sought to westernize, democratize, and commercialize Ukraine._x000D_ _x000D_ Adopting an Applied History methodology, this paper addresses the origins of policy to provide a warning for current policymakers: The viability of the Clinton administration’s policy was dependent on a pliable Kremlin, neutered by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and its attending capacity to defend its sphere of influence with military and economic means. So long as that remained the case, the West could advance its interests in central and eastern Europe with impunity. The resurgence of the Kremlin under the leadership of President Putin reveals the stark challenges that efforts to export democracy face today when presented with concerted efforts to reassert command from Moscow. _x000D_

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