Best by Russian Military Aggression and the legacy from its years of economic mismanagement, Ukraine faces an existential crisis that has also roiled the politics of Europe. Yet there is a glimmer of hope and opportunity for this tormented country. In 2014 Ukraine carried out free and fair elections of a new president and parliament. With this democratic foundation, Ukraine can shape its future and return to economic and political stability. In this book, one of the world's leading experts on Ukraine offers its new leadership a strategy for reform. Anders Åslund maintains that the country's fundamental problem is corruption and poor governance, which requires radical reform of the state from the top down. He calls for the cleansing of the judiciary and law enforcement, including the abolition of the many intrusive inspection agencies, which use a regime of licenses, permits, and certifications to squeeze the lifeblood of the economy. The book also advocates cuts in wasteful public expenditures and deregulation to promote growth-but it also calls for international financing spearheaded by the International Monetary Fund.

The European Union and the United States must also help. The book focuses extensively on the energy sector, which Åslund argues is the biggest source of top-level corruption and wasteful subsidies and should be reformed with a unified system of energy prices determined by the market, not government. Åslund also details a series of reforms in education and health care. To assure Ukraine's success, the European Union must assume the role of anchor of the country's democratic and market economic reforms. Book jacket.