KYIV – With Donald Trump as president, the United States will focus on its internal problems and this should allow Ukraine to start addressing its challenges with its own resources, claims one Ukrainian political scientist.
Mr. Trump’s victory in the presidential elections is a chance for Ukraine to get rid of illusions and begin to solve its own problems, according to Vadym Karasyov, director of the Institute of Global Strategy. Otherwise, Ukraine will not survive in the new geopolitical reality. Mr. Trump’s victory is the end of the America-centered world established after the Soviet Union’s collapse. The U.S. will focus on solving its internal problems and will address the problems of other countries to a lesser extent. “They will remain the leading country and not the hegemon who solves the issues of the global world and international order,” stated Mr. Karasyov at a briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
Ukraine should stop relying only on foreign aid and expect that external actors will solve its domestic problems, he said. “Trump’s victory shows that Ukraine should solve its key issues such as national security and territorial integrity on its own. Obama-Biden’s ‘umbrella’ will no longer be provided.”
Mr. Karasyov also said he believes that Mr. Trump’s presidency will not be a disaster for Ukraine. However, it may become a disaster for some Ukrainian politicians. “The period when they could manipulate our Western partners using the thesis that we are defending the Western world is over,” noted the director of the Institute of Global Strategy. “Either we will grow up and become strong, or we will use teenage mentality and remain subject to geopolitical agreements,” he added.
Mr. Karasyov suggested that the world is entering a phase when international alliances and institutions will play a much smaller role. The same is true of international obligations.
“There will be powerful states with powerful armies and/or foreign policy instead of alliances. In any case, the power factor will return,” he noted.