European security in the framework of hegemonic struggles: An assessment on the Ukraine problem

The end of the bipolar system with the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991 expanded the sphere of domination of the capitalist system. While dependency relations have increased in the international system, competition and contradictions between countries have also accumulated. One of the areas where the increasing contradictions are most evident is the geography of Eastern Europe. The Russian Federation, which emerged as a new state as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, has experienced a serious transformation in political, economic and class terms and has become an important actor in the global system over time. However, the process of the Russian Federation's integration into the global system has generally created tension. Western actors such as the European Union (EU), NATO and the United States of America (USA) have grasped the Russian Federation's foreign policy on the basis of security. Ukraine, one of the important countries in Eastern Europe, is of great importance in terms of Western actors and the Russian Federation's pursuit of hegemony and security. The struggle between these actors over Eastern Europe, which has been going on in various forms since the early 1990s, became a serious conflict during the 'Orange Revolution' in 2004, which brought Ukraine closer to the West. The conflict in 2014 between the power of Viktor Yanukovich, which is close to Russia, and the opposition centers that are close to the West, reaccelerated the struggle between Western actors and the Russian Federation; In 2022, it opened the door to an armed struggle that turned into a military conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This study examines the tensions that emerged in Eastern Europe in the 21st century and the dynamics that caused these tensions by relating them to the structure of the international system under the title of hegemony crisis. The effects of the hegemony pursuits of important actors such as NATO, the USA and Russia on European security are discussed in terms of political, economic, military and social dimensions. The study, which focused on the events that took place in Ukraine between the years 2004-2022, was prepared based on a historical case study. As a result of the literature review, it was observed that there is no study that comprehensively debates the struggle over Ukraine by considering the link between hegemony and security. The struggle between Ukraine and Russia, which has turned into a hot conflict, is evaluated from a Gramscian hegemony and security perspective. In this sense, the argument that there is a relationship between the pursuit of hegemony and security policies constitutes the mainstay of the study.