Suchergebnisse

Abstract: Ukrainians flocked to the Maidan to express a "choice for Europe," but they may also have forged the beginnings of a new Ukrainian identity. Events in Ukraine present the post–Cold War order in Europe with a challenge deeper than any it has ever seen, and democratic prospects across a vast swath of Eurasia seem cloudier than before as the world wonders how much more "pushback" Vladimir Putin has planned against liberaldemocratic forces at home and abroad. Yet there is no reason to let trouble in the eastern reaches of the country impede the larger and necessary work of fitting Ukraine for transparent self-government.

Important role played by civil society in a democratic transition is explored using the example of the Ukranian Orange Revolution. Despite the uniqueness of every revolution, there are two ways civil society's influence is important in all revolutions. The first is in the correlation between civil society's level of maturity & the form & manner of public protest. The second is reflected in the eventual outcome of the democratic transition. Other universal factors include evidence of government subversion of the election process & widespread fraud. Two key advantages in the case of the Ukraine were the existence of a unique concept of civil society that favored loose communities attuned to political information & analysis, & the development of a civil society that was open to the establishment of election monitoring & polling. Additionally important was an informed citizenry, & the presence of volunteers trained by Yellow Pora in underground organizing techniques. The seventeen day nonviolent protest in Maidan is asserted to have created a qualitatively new type of civil society, one that transcended the need for connection with state or government, & one centered on a new civic nationalism. The author concludes by arguing that the nonviolent & innovative strategies of Ukrainian civil society so important in the Orange Revolution, exemplify the importance of a strong civil society. J. Harwell

Abstract: The article profiles the next generation of young Russians, aged 18-35 and concludes that they are materially the best-off group of Russian ever. It explores their voting preferences and questions why they support President Putin in such large numbers. Their values and how far they have moved from Soviet ideals toward a Western mentality are described, as are the prospects for the new leaders from this generation. Even though they constitute the backbone of Russia's rising middle-class, Putin's support of economic reform and the need to court the middle class electorate make it unlikely that political challenges to his leadership will come from this group for the foreseeable future.