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99 Foreign Aff. 81 (2020)
The Shoals of Ukraine: Where American Illusions and Great-Power Politics Collide

handle is hein.journals/fora99 and id is 83 raw text is: The Shoals of Ukraine Where American Illusions and Great- Power Politics Collide Serhii Plokhy and M. E. Sarotte A t first, it might seem surprising that Ukraine, a country on the fringes of Europe, is suddenly at the turbulent center of American politics and foreign policy. With an impeachment inquiry in Washington adding further detail to the story of the Trump administration's efforts to tie U.S. security assistance for the country to Ukrainian cooperation in investigating President Donald Trump's Democratic opponents, Trump's presidency itself hangs in the bal- ance. And the repercussions go even further, raising questions about the legitimacy and sustainability of U.S. power itself. In fact, that Ukraine is at the center of this storm should not be surprising at all. Over the past quarter century, nearly all major ef- forts at establishing a durable post-Cold War order on the Eurasian continent have foundered on the shoals of Ukraine. For it is in Ukraine that the disconnect between triumphalist end-of-history delusions and the ongoing realities of great-power competition can be seen in its starkest form. To most American policymakers, Ukraine has represented a brave young country-one that, despite the burden of history, suc- cessfully launched itself on a path of democratic development as part of a new world order after the fall of the Berlin Wall. To the Kremlin, meanwhile, it has remained an indispensable part of a long-standing sphere of influence, one that operates largely accord- ing to old rules of power. The difference between these two views SERHII PLOKHY is Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and Director of the Ukrainian Research institute at Harvard University and the author of The Gates of Europe:A History of Ukraine. M. E. SAROTTE is Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies at Johns Hopkins University and the author of The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall. January/February 2020 81

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