Transformation of Political Leadership in Ukraine in the Context of a Hybrid Political Regime

The article examines the transformation of political leadership in Ukraine through the frameworks of transitology and hybrid regime theory. It argues that the authoritarian tendencies observed in Ukrainian political leadership are not personal deviations but stem from institutionally embedded features of the political system. The analysis traces the evolution of power concentration mechanisms from the presidency of Leonid Kuchma to the current stage of wartime centralization, highlighting the continuity of informal practices and the strengthening of executive dominance. The study demonstrates that the Ukrainian political order combines elements of competitive politics with neopatrimonial patterns, forming a stable configuration of hybrid governance. The persistence of this model is explained by the “institutional trap” of hybridity, which cyclically reproduces constraints on democratic consolidation and enables the adaptive use of authoritarian instruments under varying political and security contexts. Overall, the article shows that the trajectory of Ukrainian political leadership reflects broader regime dynamics in which elite competition, societal activism, and external democratic commitments simultaneously limit and recalibrate attempts at full authoritarian consolidation.