Aspects Of The Orange Revolution V

Reports by international governmental and non-governmental organizations on the 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine constituted a significant factor in generating, facilitating, and completing the Orange Revolution. Ukrainian civil society, mass media, courts, and political parties were the main driving force behind the popular uprising that returned Ukraine to the path of democratization it had embarked on in 1991. Yet, the unambiguous stance and political weight of such institutions as the EU, PACE, NATO, and, above all, OSCE played their role too. The democratic movement benefited from the menace of international isolation and stigmatization of the Ukrainian state, which was expected in case President Leonid Kuchma had decided to prevent a repetition of the second round of the voting.The volume collects not all, but some of the most widely discussed reports, including English translations of selected sections of the three reports produced by the CIS International Observers Mission. The latter as well as a report by an Israeli institute depart from the assessments of the other organizations represented here, allowing for comparison of diverging evaluations of the same events. The volume assembles full or excerpted official reports of the International Republican Institute, the Tel Aviv Institute for the Countries of Eastern Europe and CIS, the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Contributions by Yevgen Shapoval and Roman Kupchinsky introduce and conclude the collection.

The dramatic series of protests and political events that unfolded in Ukraine in the fall of 2004—the "Orange Revolution"—were seminal both for Ukrainian history and the history of democratization. Pro-Western presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned with dioxin, an industrial pollutant that left him weakened and horribly disfigured. When this assassination attempt failed, the Kremlin-backed ruling party resorted to voter intimidation and massive electoral fraud to win the runoff election. Supporters of Yushchenko responded with a series of strikes, sit-ins, and marches throughout Ukraine. Thanks in large part to this peaceful revolution, the election results were annulled. In a second runoff, Yushchenko was elected as the new president. Revolution in Orange seeks to explain why and how this nationwide protest movement occurred. Its effects have already been felt from Kyrgyzstan to Lebanon and are likely to travel even further. Yet few predicted or anticipated such a dramatic democratic breakthrough in Ukraine. This volume attempts to distinguish between necessary and facilitating factors in the success of the Orange Revolution. It also discusses the elements that have been commonly assumed to be critical but, in fact, were not instrumental in the movement. Chapters explore the role of former President Kuchma and the oligarchs, societal attitudes, the role of the political opposition and civil society, the importance of the media, and the roles of Russia and the West. Contributors include Nadia Diuk (National Endowment for Democracy), Adrian Karatnycky (Freedom House), Taras Kuzio (George Washington University), Hrihoriy Nemyria (Taras Shevchenko National University, Kiev), Pavol Demes (German Marshall Fund), Nikolai Petrov and Andrey Ryabov (Carnegie Moscow Center), and Olena Prytula (editor, Ukrainskaya Pravda).

Post-communist democratic revolutions have, so far, taken place in six countries: Slovakia (1998), Croatia (1999-2000), Serbia (2000), Georgia (2003), Ukraine (2004), and Kyrgyzstan (2005). The seven chapters in this volume situate these events within a theoretical and comparative perspective. The book draws upon extensive experience and field research conducted by political scientists specializing in comparative democratization, regime politics, political transitions, electoral studies, and the post-communist world. The papers by Valerie Bunce and Sharon Wolchik, Henry Hale, Paul D'Anieri, David R. Marples, Taras Kuzio, Lucan A. Way and Steven Levitsky as well as Anika Locke Binnendijk and Ivan Marovic explore different regime types and opposition strategies in post-communist states, the diffusion of opposition strategies between states in which democratic revolutions were attempted, the strategic importance of youth NGO's in mobilizing oppositions towards democratic revolutions, the use of non-violent strategies by the opposition, path dependent, theoretical and comparative explanations of the sources of successful and failed democratic revolutions, and the factors that lie behind divergent post-revolutionary trajectories.The volume represents a breakthrough in our understanding of why and how democratic revolutions take place in the post-communist world. It provides an integrated analysis of why such upheavals succeed in some, but fail in other states. The contributions point to, among other issues, why the post-revolutionary breakthroughs in Serbia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan have encountered obstacles, the ousted regime was never fully defeated and its representatives were able to launch counter-revolutions, as well as why, in Serbia and Ukraine, the political forces of the ousted regimes have returned to power in free elections held after democratic revolutions. "Post-Communist Democratic Revolutions in Comparative Perspective" is essential reading for scholars and policy makers alike.

Post-communist democratic revolutions have, so far, taken place in six countries: Slovakia (1998), Croatia (1999-2000), Serbia (2000), Georgia (2003), Ukraine (2004), and Kyrgyzstan (2005). The seven chapters in this volume situate these events within a theoretical and comparative perspective. The book draws upon extensive experience and field research conducted by political scientists specializing in comparative democratization, regime politics, political transitions, electoral studies, and the post-communist world. The papers by Valerie Bunce and Sharon Wolchik, Henry Hale, Paul D'Anieri, David R. Marples, Taras Kuzio, Lucan A. Way and Steven Levitsky as well as Anika Locke Binnendijk and Ivan Marovic explore different regime types and opposition strategies in post-communist states, the diffusion of opposition strategies between states in which democratic revolutions were attempted, the strategic importance of youth NGO's in mobilizing oppositions towards democratic revolutions, the use of non-violent strategies by the opposition, path dependent, theoretical and comparative explanations of the sources of successful and failed democratic revolutions, and the factors that lie behind divergent post-revolutionary trajectories.The volume represents a breakthrough in our understanding of why and how democratic revolutions take place in the post-communist world. It provides an integrated analysis of why such upheavals succeed in some, but fail in other states. The contributions point to, among other issues, why the post-revolutionary breakthroughs in Serbia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan have encountered obstacles, the ousted regime was never fully defeated and its representatives were able to launch counter-revolutions, as well as why, in Serbia and Ukraine, the political forces of the ousted regimes have returned to power in free elections held after democratic revolutions. "Post-Communist Democratic Revolutions in Comparative Perspective" is essential reading for scholars and policy makers alike.

The remarkable popular protest in Kiev and across Ukraine following the cooked presidential election of November 2004 has transformed the politics of eastern Europe. Andrew Wilson witnessed the events firsthand and here looks behind the headlines to ascertain what really happened and how it will affect the future of the region. It is a dramatic story: an outgoing president implicated via secret tape-recordings in corruption and murder; a shadowy world of political cheats and manipulators; the massive covert involvement of Putin’s Russia; the poisoning of the opposition challenger; and finally the mass protest of half a million Ukrainians that forced a second poll and the victory of Viktor Yushchenko. As well as giving an account of the election and its aftermath, the book examines the broader implications of the Orange Revolution and of Russia’s serious miscalculation of its level of influence. It explores the likely chain reaction in Moldova, Belarus, and the nervous autocracies of the Caucasus, and points to a historical transformation of the geopolitics of Eurasia.

Reports by international governmental and non-governmental organizations on the 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine constituted a significant factor in generating, facilitating, and completing the Orange Revolution. Ukrainian civil society, mass media, courts, and political parties were the main driving force behind the popular uprising that returned Ukraine to the path of democratization it had embarked on in 1991. Yet, the unambiguous stance and political weight of such institutions as the EU, PACE, NATO, and, above all, OSCE played their role too. The democratic movement benefited from the menace of international isolation and stigmatization of the Ukrainian state, which was expected in case President Leonid Kuchma had decided to prevent a repetition of the second round of the voting.The volume collects not all, but some of the most widely discussed reports, including English translations of selected sections of the three reports produced by the CIS International Observers Mission. The latter as well as a report by an Israeli institute depart from the assessments of the other organizations represented here, allowing for comparison of diverging evaluations of the same events. The volume assembles full or excerpted official reports of the International Republican Institute, the Tel Aviv Institute for the Countries of Eastern Europe and CIS, the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Contributions by Yevgen Shapoval and Roman Kupchinsky introduce and conclude the collection.

One of Europe's old nations steeped in history, Ukraine is today an undisputed independent state. It is a democracy and has transformed into a market economy with predominant private ownership. Ukraine's postcommunist transition has been one of the most protracted and socially costly, but it has taken the country to a desirable destination. Åslund's vivid account of Ukraine's journey begins with a brief background, where he discusses the implications of Ukraine's history, the awakening of society because of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms, the early democratization, and the impact of the ill-fated Soviet economic reforms. He then turns to the reign of President Leonid Kravchuk from 1991 to 1994, the only salient achievement of which was nation-building, while the economy collapsed in the midst of hyperinflation. The first two years of Leonid Kuchma's presidency, from 1994 to 1996, were characterized by substantial achievements, notably financial stabilization and mass privatization. The period 1996–99 was a miserable period of policy stagnation, rent seeking, and continued economic decline. In 2000 hope returned to Ukraine. Viktor Yushchenko became prime minister and launched vigorous reforms to cleanse the economy from corruption, and economic growth returned. The ensuing period, 2001–04, amounted to a competitive oligarchy. It was quite pluralist, although repression increased. Economic growth was high. The year 2004 witnessed the most joyful period in Ukraine, the Orange Revolution, which represented Ukraine's democratic breakthrough, with Yushchenko as its hero. The postrevolution period, however, has been characterized by great domestic political instability; a renewed, explicit Russian threat to Ukraine's sovereignty; and a severe financial crisis. The answers to these challenges lie in how soon the European Union fully recognizes Ukraine's long-expressed identity as a European state, how swiftly Ukraine improves its malfunctioning constitutional order, and how promptly it addresses corruption.