The Ideological Tradition of Stepan Bandera in Contemporary Political Thought of Ukraine

Abstract

The article focuses on the analysis of the historical policy of contemporary Ukraine, focus ing on the ideological tradition of Stepan Bandera in political thought. The study aims to understand the influence of political elites on policy formation in the context of presidential changes over 30 years. Ukrainian historical policy, evolving over three decades, has changed from pluralistic to more one dimensional, emphasizing anti-communism, anti-Russianism and references to the nationalist tradi tion of the OUN/UPA. Ukraine’s historical policy is a tool of ideological struggle, especially between the right-wing and left-wing camps. Depending on the political context, the figure of Stepan Bandera and the tradition of the OUN/UPA have been interpreted differently – as symbols of the struggle for inde pendence or crimes against humanity. With the events of 2013-2014 (Revolution of Dignity) and the war with Russia, nationalism has become an important element of Ukrainian memory policy, which has caused tensions both internally and with neighboring countries.