Ukraine and the global south: The ambiguities of a postcolonial perspective

Abstract

With the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion Ukraine started actively utilize the trope of postcolonial struggle in its external strategic communication. Such positionality was intended to take relations with the global South to a new level. The aim of this article is twofold: empirically, it seeks to discuss how the idea of postcolonialism in its policy-oriented interpretation contributes to the positional rapprochement of Ukraine and the global South. The author argues that employing such narrative has its logic but also significant limitations. Conceptually, the article unpacks three different interpretations of the concept of post-coloniality in academic literature and analyses how they are applicable to Ukraine’s postcolonial posture.