TO WIN THE WAR IS NOT THE SAME AS TO ‘WIN THE PEACE’: THE COMING CONSTITUTIONAL MOMENT IN UKRAINE
TO WIN THE WAR IS NOT THE SAME AS TO ‘WIN THE PEACE’: THE COMING CONSTITUTIONAL MOMENT IN UKRAINE

Summary/Abstract: Russia’s continuing aggression against Ukraine is exceptional both in terms of its scale and itsglobal implications. A peaceful and prosperous future for Ukraine, neighbouring states and in-deed the entire continent, depends upon two interrelated factors. The first is Ukraine’s ability towin, with Western support, the war initiated against it by the Russian Federation under Putin.This would bring about a new global opening, ending the Moscow-Beijing anti-Western axis inworld politics. The second factor is Ukraine’s ability to take advantage of the constitutional mo-ment that will present itself as attention shifts from the military effort toward the process of statereconstruction. Presenting the situation of Ukraine in regional, historical, and global context, wedraw attention to specific challenges and choices that state elites will face post-war. We explainthe internal and external implications of these choices to show why Ukraine should seize itsupcoming constitutional moment. Drawing on both political theory and real world examples ofconstitutional revolutions, we explain the factors involved in the effective exploitation of the con-stitutional moment. We suggest that, channelled to constructive purposes, the demands and aspi-rations of Ukrainian citizens may help propel the political and economic reforms needed to securesocial trust and a stable future. We conclude that multi-level political and civic engagement ina new constitutional process will be indispensable for reconstructing the institutional foundationsfor peace, democratic governance and the rule of law in post-conflict Ukraine.

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