Book Chapter by Dr. Hannes Meissner and Yaroslav Prytula on Chances and Risks for FDI in Ukraine

Springer Edition on Germany’s Ukraine Policy

The volume, edited by Wolfgang Gieler (Dortmund University of Applied Sciences) and Meik Novak (Hamburg University of the Armed Forces), analyzes Germany's Ukraine policy from three key perspectives: development cooperation, foreign policy, and security policy. In their book chapter “State capture, geopolitics, and EU reform pressure: Opportunities and risks for foreign direct investment and socioeconomic development,” Managing Partner Hannes Meissner and Yaroslav Prytula (Ukrainian Catholic University of Lviv) analyze Ukraine's socioeconomic development prospects and the opportunities and risks the country offers for foreign direct investment. While potential EU membership and extensive reconstruction aid from the West raise hopes for a democratic Ukraine governed by the rule of law with a dynamic economy, two major categories of political risk stand in the way of this scenario: state capture and geopolitical risks. The analysis shows from a historical and conceptual perspective that both categories of risk are deeply rooted and extremely persistent. Finally, the article assesses how the Russian invasion and reform pressure from the EU have shaped these trends and derives three scenarios for future foreign direct investment and socioeconomic outcomes.