Legitimacy: Yugoslav Lessons for Ukraine
Summary
Examples from the breakup of Yugoslavia and state-building in the successor states are used to highlight the political and constitutional choices facing Ukraine. The main lesson is that legitimacy is needed for constitution-building, which is needed for long-term state stability. Ethnic and other diversities are not crucially important except if they are used as a means for external interference.
Keywords: legitimacy, democracy, constitutionalism, international intervention, state-building
JEL classification: H10, H77, K100, F510
Countries covered: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Yugoslavia
Research Areas: Regional Development