Security Bridge or Vacuum in Post - Orange Ukraine

The chronic political uncertainty in Ukraine has created a type of formal stability built upon a ―play-with-the-rules‖ (instead of ―play-by-the-rules‖) archetype. This kind of stability may help consolidate national governance in the short-term. However, it is unable to provide long-term fundamentals for success, as it does not meet obvious challenges of institutional capacity-building, functional democracy, and rule of law. The current question for the new Ukrainian leadership is: Can Ukraine change its foreign policy priorities without withdrawing from existing international commitments and related domestic policies (including security sector reforms), or will these changes lead to an increased stagnation of reforms and, if so, the further marginalization of Ukraine in the so-called ―new European security architecture‖?