Abstract
This assignment analyses and discusses how Ukraine uses its position between two great powers in a regional context in the period between Ukrainian independence and the Euromaidan protests. The main argument is that Ukraine has agency on its own and that Ukraine can shape its own foreign policy and, in this regard, also obtain benefits by complying to the great powers around it or by playing the great powers against each other. It is also demonstrated that this obtaining of benefits become increasingly difficult as the regional security complex moves from unipolar to bipolar. Fur thermore, the assignment demonstrates that it can become costly for small and medium states to pursue a dual-alignment or wedging strategi in regard to great powers. The assignment also exam ines how the changing relations between the EU and Russia makes different foreign policies possi ble and impossible for Ukraine to pursue.