Glenn School receives new $200,000 contract to help
Crimea’s parliament develop democratic practices
When he visited Ukraine in July, Vice President Joe Biden declared the United States would stand by fledgling Eastern European democracies in the face of political interference from Russia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has claimed a “sphere of influence” in former Soviet republics that has resulted in political tensions and occasional armed conflict.
“[Biden] told Ukraine we support them, we support their continued economic development, and the U.S. does not recognize Ukraine as being part of any sphere of influence of any country,” said Charles Wise, director of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs.
Against this backdrop of political power plays that last summer erupted in armed conflict between Russia and Georgia over disputed autonomous regions in Georgia, the Parliamentary Development Project for Ukraine (PDP) has worked since 1994 to bolster Ukraine’s government and democratic processes.
Beginning this month, PDP will expand its activities to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine’s only autonomous territory and a region of historical importance in its political relations with Russia.
With a $200,000 contract from the United States Agency for International Development, PDP — which is operated by the Glenn School — will open a one-person office in Crimea to coordinate democracy-development activities with the regional parliament, the Crimean Verkhovna Rada.
“I would like to see them adopt some of the democratic practices that the national parliament is adopting,” said Wise, who also serves as project director for PDP.
The yearlong Crimean project has three primary objectives. First, it aims to increase transparency and citizen access to the Verkhovna Rada through training and consultations for parliament members, staff and media, overhauling the parliament’s Web site, and analysis of organizational practices.
Second, the project seeks to promote better regional legislation and policy development. Activities planned to meet this objective include study tours and exchanges with the national Verkhovna Rada, an internship program for Crimean university students, and research support from the Ohio State University.
The third objective is to improve communication and integration between the Crimean and Ukrainian legislatures through research, consultations, exchanges and attendance at national parliament committee hearings affecting Crimea.
Wise said this closer coordination between the Crimean and Ukrainian governments will be vital as Ukraine’s leaders increasingly attempt to extract the country from Russia’s sphere of influence. Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the incorporation of the ethnic-Russian-dominated Crimean peninsula into Ukraine, Crimea’s allegiance to the national government has been tenuous at best.
Although the Black Sea region thus far has resisted calls by its own citizens and Russian leaders to assert its independence, last August’s armed conflict in Georgia demonstrated Russia’s readiness to intercede on behalf of pro-Kremlin former territories.
As in Georgia, Ukraine’s leaders have shown a desire to steer the country away from Russia’s influence in recent years, requiring that government business be conducted exclusively in Ukrainian rather than Russian and stepping up efforts to join NATO.
Crimea may soon become a more contentious battleground in Ukraine-Russian politics. The peninsula is home to a naval base currently leased by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has said the lease should not be renewed when it expires in 2017 — a move Wise said would be a “very strategic issue for Russia.”
“So obviously Ukraine is interested in continuing to see if Crimea can develop both economically and politically and be integrated even more into the national political life of Ukraine,” he said.
PDP activities in Ukraine are coordinated by staff at Indiana University, the Glenn School and program offices in Kiev. The Glenn School’s current PDP contract runs through 2011.
