Yulia Zhuchkova

The concept of the traditional nation-state is being increasingly challenged by ideas of ‘local ethnicity’, provoking a crisis in relations between central governments and regional authorities. To overcome it, the latter appeal to the principle of federalism, while the former are often reluctant to implement devolution. My study aims at assessing the chances and possible ways of applying principles of devolution to ease the conflicts taking place in the post-Soviet space, above all in Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine.

The concept of the traditional nation-state is being increasingly challenged by ideas of ‘local ethnicity’, provoking a crisis in relations between central governments and regional authorities. To overcome it, the latter appeal to the principle of federalism, while the former are often reluctant to implement devolution. My study aims at assessing the chances and possible ways of applying principles of devolution to ease the conflicts taking place in the post-Soviet space, above all in Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine.