Journal article

Authors list: Rabinovych, Maryna; Gawrich, Andrea

Publication year: 2023

Pages: 1036-1058

Journal: East European Politics and Societies

Volume number: 37

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 0888-3254

eISSN: 1533-8371

Open access status: Hybrid

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/08883254221139841

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Abstract: 
This article explores Western donors' support for the decentralization reform in post-Euromaidan Ukraine prior to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, with a focus on the relationship between decentralization and conflict management. It demonstrates that, despite the protracted conflict in eastern Ukraine, bilateral donors have preferred to address Ukraine's decentralization from the governance reform perspective, rather than as a form of territorial self-governance (TSG) arrangement, linked to conflict resolution. They have also tended to "outsource " conflict-related support to multilateral organizations. This article explains the Russian Federation's use of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk "People's Republics " as proxies in an international conflict and the contested nature of the role played by the Minsk Protocol in determining the form of support provided for reform. It concludes with insights into the implications of donor support for the decentralization reform in Ukraine for research on decentralization and other TSG solutions in conflict-affected contexts.

Harvard Citation style: Rabinovych, M. and Gawrich, A. (2023) The Conflict in Eastern Ukraine and International Support for the Decentralization Reform (2014-2022): Theory-Guided Observations, East European Politics and Societies, 37(3), pp. 1036-1058. https://doi.org/10.1177/08883254221139841

APA Citation style: Rabinovych, M., & Gawrich, A. (2023). The Conflict in Eastern Ukraine and International Support for the Decentralization Reform (2014-2022): Theory-Guided Observations. East European Politics and Societies. 37(3), 1036-1058. https://doi.org/10.1177/08883254221139841