Is Ukraine part of Europe? 

This questions came to mind this week when I met with a lawyer from Ukraine. We spoke in French, a language with which we were both comfortable. And we had similar cultural references and shared a common business background. In this case, I was less aware of cultural difference than is often the case when meeting with lawyers from Morocco or Sweden, for example.

Putting aside technical questions of European Union membership, I have trouble thinking of Ukraine as forming part of Europe. In my mental map, Ukraine is off to the side, squeezed onto a periphery. (And in  my mental map, the same is true of Georgia.) This is, I suspect, largely a relic of the cold war foundations on which postwar Europe has been built. It's also a useful reminder of the different kinds of distance that can separate us from our neighbors.