Abstract

In the course of the analysis we revealed that the foreign policy of Ukraine was affected by domestic political conflicts, which involve the central political institutions of the state – the Parliament, the President and the Prime minister. This confrontation leads to the fact that the acts of central political actors of foreign policy in the international relations become inconsistent and the state loses the status of the projected partner. The most serious conflicts between Ukrainian governmental bodies occurred in the period of the parliamentarypresidential republic. These conflicts were often caused by different views of Ukrainian political elites on foreign policy. This fact complicates the implementation of the foreign policy and leads to the deterioration of the state’s image in the world. On the other hand, the foreign policy differences often led to the aggravation of the political situation in Ukraine. A special role in the formation and implementation of the foreign policy in accordance with the Constitution assigned the President of Ukraine. Ukrainian researchers associate the foreign policy of the state with the name of the Presidents – the foreign policy of President Kuchma, Yushchenko’s foreign policy etc. However, the transformation of the Ukrainian political system from presidential to parliamentary republic extends opportunities of the parliament and the government. The President loses the ability of management and to control the foreign policy of the Government. Parliament does not receive additional leverage political influence, but it has the ability to appoint the Prime minister from among the parliamentary majority. This gives Parliament the opportunity to realize the foreign policy of the party, which has a majority in the Parliament or Parliament’s coalition. The foreign policy dichotomy caused by the specifics of the geopolitical position of the state, can be seen in multi-vector orientation Ukrainian society and political elites. The Law «On the basis of domestic and foreign policy of Ukraine» fixed the strategic directions of the foreign policy of the state, excluding the most problematic issue about NATO. In general, this Law is a compromise between political elites and the Ukrainian society. Although for the development and implementation of a balanced and effective foreign policy requires a real consensus of experts, elites and society.