Ukrainian Hetmanate and the Ottoman Empire within the Westphalian International System

The study offers the author’s interpretation of the development of interstate relations between the Ukrainian Hetmanate – formed during the National Revolution of 1648–1676 – and the Sublime Porte, one of the principal centers of geopolitical influence in Central and Eastern Europe in the latter half of the seventeenth and throughout the eighteenth century. The analysis focuses not only on the factual dimension of Ukrainian–Ottoman relations but also on the underlying dynamics that shaped their nature and evolution. Particular attention is paid to the motivations of the political actors involved, as well as to both the constructive outcomes of their interaction and the negative consequences of missed opportunities – not only for Ukraine and the Ottoman Empire, but also for the broader transformation of the European geopolitical landscape by the end of the eighteenth century. A central argument of the study is that, in the Early Modern period, the inability of European powers to prevent Russia from instrumentalizing the “Ukrainian question” in the process of imperial expansion contributed to the emergence of long-term structural threats. These dynamics, the author argues, have culminated in the first quarter of the twenty-first century in challenges that pose a serious risk to global democratic stability

Constructive · Democracy · Geopolitics · Hegemony · Interpretation (philosophy) · Ottoman empire · Politics · Ukrainian · Westphalian sovereignty · Historical Influence and Diplomacy · Ottoman Empire History and Society · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity