Most of Ukrainians are for neutral non-bloc status: survey

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Most of the Ukrainians of all social-demographic groups do not see any real threat to the independence and territorial integrity of their state and advocate its neutral non-bloc status, say the results of the sociological survey “Geopolitical Choice of Ukraine: Realities, Problems, Prospects,” held by the Ukrainian Forum NGO.

Almost 2/3 of the respondents say that there are just insignificant threats or absolutely no threats to Ukraine’s national security and only 1/4 say that the country is facing significant or very significant threats. The authors of the survey believe that the Ukrainians are prevalently negative of NATO membership and steadily positive of neutrality because they are convinced that their country can ensure its national security on its own and not because they are poorly aware of military-political blocs. 65.1% of the respondents are against NATO membership and only 23.5% are for it. There is serious discrepancy between the regions: in 7 western regions NATO advocates prevail (47.5% against 32.1%), while in Donbass and the Crimea people are mostly negative of NATO integration (88.2%).

52.1% of advocate neutrality. 44.2% say that Ukraine can ensure its security on its own. 56.2% say that NATO membership will boost budgetary expenses, while 44.8% say that it will ruin the military industrial complex. 80% say that NATO membership will worsen Ukraine’s relations with Russia, while 60% expect improvement if Ukraine joins the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

The analysts of the Ukrainian Forum conclude:

- The ratio between the advocates and opponents of NATO or CSTO depends on the factor of region. Hence, any final decision on Ukraine’s foreign political integration will be politically and socially dangerous as it may lead to further national split.

- Negative or positive attitudes towards Ukraine’s membership to military-political alliances do not come from objective assessments; quite the opposite, they give rise to subjective assessments. That is, in choosing Ukraine’s geopolitical future Ukrainian citizens, just like politicians, are based on stereotypes, while their choice is based on their outlook and system of values.

- Mass stereotypes cannot be overcome through higher awareness and propaganda. It is necessary to carry out all-embracing unprejudiced analysis of the political-economic consequences of possible geopolitical decisions.

The survey was held among 2,007 people all over Ukraine (95 towns and villages) on Oct 11-22 2005 by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine and Ukrainian Sociology Service on the order of the Ukrainian Forum. The questionnaire consisted of 70 questions. The sampling error is no more than 3%.