The non‐military security forces of Ukraine

Post Soviet states, such as Ukraine, have expanded the number, type and size of their non‐military security forces to the extent that they now are larger than the armed forces. Traditional studies of civil‐military relations have not covered these non‐military forces, which leads to a disjointed picture of security forces in states in the throes of democratisation, such as Ukraine. By studying these forces we can understand the threat perceptions of the ruling elites and how these have changed from external to internal. The study of these forces also shows us how the forces inherited from the former USSR were nationalised and integrated into the newly independent state and how other forces were created or expanded in the course of state building.