THE SEARCH FOR THE EUROPEAN IDENTITY OF THE MODERN UKRAINIAN MILITARY POLICY AMONG THE FACTORS OF CONSOLIDATION OF SOCIETY

Abstract

The central thesis of the article is the need to change the ideological foundations and vectors of the direction of Ukrainian defense policy, which for two decades has not been identified among the controversial positions: the system of collective security of Europe and links to NATO defense structures or the construction of individual self-defense, according to a non-aligned strategy, moderate cooperation with the military -political structures of the CIS, or symbolic participation in the Tashkent Defense Union. Finding a European identity positively affects the unity of political forces. The European identity of Ukrainian defense policy can become the consolidating factor of the main political forces, which, even in the face of existential threats from the side of an aggressive neighbor, have not yet found consensus again. Determining the Ukrainian society is to find the essence or identity of a new military policy among typical security (defense) policies in the face of the existing threats of territorial integrity, new challenges and future threats to large-scale aggression, as well as its compliance with European standards. Responsible and difficult task has always been to deal with defense issues, which would satisfy the need of citizens of all European states in security. Critics of European defense policy have indicated that, relying on NATO's defense, the governments of the countries have recently failed to provide sufficient resources to the material base of defense, although this state of affairs has clearly changed in the face of conflicts in Ukraine. The "Revolution of Dignity" in Ukraine fundamentally changed the essence and content of political regulation of most social spheres, but defense (military) policy is only at the beginning of the path of finding its "European face". Full integration of Ukraine into the European security and foreign policy space is impossible without the approximation in the first stages, in the future - the close coordination of our country's and EU, US and NATO's defense policies, ultimately, with active participation in joint international political and defense security efforts on the continent.

Key words: European security policy, modern defense policy of Ukraine, vectors of defense policy orientation.