Development of Z. Brzezinski’s Geostrategic Concept Regarding Ukraine (1950 – 2017)

Abstract

The article considers the development of Z. Brzezinski’s geostrategic concept regarding Ukraine in the period from 1950 to 2017. The author attempts to determine the role Ukraine plays in Brzezinski’s geostrategy. The study concludes that Brzezinski’s geostrategic concept in relation to Ukraine is by and large the result of many years of geopolitical confrontation between the United States and Russia. Its key imperatives were first formulated as a means of undermining the national unity of the Soviet Union, and then were combined into a system for restraining Russia’s imperial aspirations and geopolitical ambitions in the post-Soviet space. In the author’s judgment, it is for this reason that the main fundamentals of this concept remained unchanged throughout the entire period under review (1950–2017), while certain aspects and tactical approaches were changed and adjusted depending on the state of relations between the West and Russia. This was most evident in the issue of Ukraine’s membership in NATO. Until 2014, when there were no sharp conflicts and contradictions in relations between the West and Russia, Brzezinski acted as a staunch advocate for Ukraine’s admission to the alliance in the foreseeable future. It is characteristic that during this period he was far from being embarrassed by the fact that Ukrainian society was divided on this issue, as was repeatedly pointed out by his opponents. He did not deny this, but he never considered reality to be something immutable and predetermined. On the contrary, in his opinion, it can and should be changed when necessary. From 2014, in a changing environment of escalating geopolitical confrontation with Russia, Brzezinski came to suggest that Ukraine should be denied the right to join the North Atlantic Alliance and Russia should be guaranteed the non-aligned status of Ukraine, referring, inter alia, to the lack of unity on this issue within Ukrainian society.