Normative Power Ukraine? Understanding EU Anti-Corruption Norms in Ukraine’s Accession Process
(2026) MRSM15 20261Human Rights Studies
- Abstract
- Anti-corruption reform is foundational for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Although accession conditionality has become a key driver of reform, formal requirements alone provide only a partial insight into how anti-corruption reform is advanced in practice. This thesis examines how EU-promoted anti-corruption norms acquire meaning and practical significance through their interaction with domestic actors engaged in reform efforts in Ukraine. Drawing on insights from Europeanisation, vernacularisation, and socio-legal scholarship, this study adopts a qualitative case study approach combining analysis of key EU strategic documents with semi-structured interviews conducted with ten Ukrainian anti- corruption professionals (March... (More)
- Anti-corruption reform is foundational for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Although accession conditionality has become a key driver of reform, formal requirements alone provide only a partial insight into how anti-corruption reform is advanced in practice. This thesis examines how EU-promoted anti-corruption norms acquire meaning and practical significance through their interaction with domestic actors engaged in reform efforts in Ukraine. Drawing on insights from Europeanisation, vernacularisation, and socio-legal scholarship, this study adopts a qualitative case study approach combining analysis of key EU strategic documents with semi-structured interviews conducted with ten Ukrainian anti- corruption professionals (March 2026). The findings indicate that EU-promoted anti- corruption norms are not simply transferred through accession conditionality but are actively interpreted, translated, and operationalised by domestic actors. While EU conditionality provides a key source of reform leverage, the advancement of anti-corruption reform is also shaped by the agency of domestic actors who embed accession-related priorities within domestic reform processes. The thesis foregrounds the role of domestic actors in shaping how EU-promoted norms are translated into practice and contributes to a more actor- oriented understanding of EU norm diffusion. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Anti-corruption reform is foundational for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Although accession conditionality has become a key driver of reform, formal requirements alone provide only a partial insight into how anti-corruption reform is advanced in practice. This thesis examines how EU-promoted anti-corruption norms acquire meaning and practical significance through their interaction with domestic actors engaged in reform efforts in Ukraine. Drawing on insights from Europeanisation, vernacularisation, and socio-legal scholarship, this study adopts a qualitative case study approach combining analysis of key EU strategic documents with semi-structured interviews conducted with ten Ukrainian anti- corruption professionals (March... (More)
- Anti-corruption reform is foundational for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Although accession conditionality has become a key driver of reform, formal requirements alone provide only a partial insight into how anti-corruption reform is advanced in practice. This thesis examines how EU-promoted anti-corruption norms acquire meaning and practical significance through their interaction with domestic actors engaged in reform efforts in Ukraine. Drawing on insights from Europeanisation, vernacularisation, and socio-legal scholarship, this study adopts a qualitative case study approach combining analysis of key EU strategic documents with semi-structured interviews conducted with ten Ukrainian anti- corruption professionals (March 2026). The findings indicate that EU-promoted anti- corruption norms are not simply transferred through accession conditionality but are actively interpreted, translated, and operationalised by domestic actors. While EU conditionality provides a key source of reform leverage, the advancement of anti-corruption reform is also shaped by the agency of domestic actors who embed accession-related priorities within domestic reform processes. The thesis foregrounds the role of domestic actors in shaping how EU-promoted norms are translated into practice and contributes to a more actor- oriented understanding of EU norm diffusion. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9246657
- author
- Robinson, Daniel John LU
- supervisor
-
- Olof Beckman LU
- organization
- course
- MRSM15 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Ukraine, European Union Accession, Anti-Corruption Reform, Norm Diffusion, Europeanisation, Vernacularisation, Domestic Actors, EU Conditionality
- language
- English
- id
- 9246657
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-10 13:36:40
- date last changed
- 2026-08-10 13:36:40
@misc{9246657,
abstract = {{Anti-corruption reform is foundational for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Although accession conditionality has become a key driver of reform, formal requirements alone provide only a partial insight into how anti-corruption reform is advanced in practice. This thesis examines how EU-promoted anti-corruption norms acquire meaning and practical significance through their interaction with domestic actors engaged in reform efforts in Ukraine. Drawing on insights from Europeanisation, vernacularisation, and socio-legal scholarship, this study adopts a qualitative case study approach combining analysis of key EU strategic documents with semi-structured interviews conducted with ten Ukrainian anti- corruption professionals (March 2026). The findings indicate that EU-promoted anti- corruption norms are not simply transferred through accession conditionality but are actively interpreted, translated, and operationalised by domestic actors. While EU conditionality provides a key source of reform leverage, the advancement of anti-corruption reform is also shaped by the agency of domestic actors who embed accession-related priorities within domestic reform processes. The thesis foregrounds the role of domestic actors in shaping how EU-promoted norms are translated into practice and contributes to a more actor- oriented understanding of EU norm diffusion.}},
author = {{Robinson, Daniel John}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Normative Power Ukraine? Understanding EU Anti-Corruption Norms in Ukraine’s Accession Process}},
year = {{2026}},
}