The Orange Revolution: A case study of democratic transition in Ukraine

Thesis explores the factors contributing to the occurrence of the Orange revolution of 2004 in Ukraine, as well factors leading to its success. This study looks at numerous factors such as demographic structure change; civil society growth; awareness of corruption & excessive coercion; formation of alternative leadership & elite fragmentation; transformation of the economic system; technological advance; nationalism; affective response; and finally foreign influence. Overview of transitology literature provides a theoretical framework for the analysis and the discussion of pre-revolutionary Ukraine provides the necessary supporting socio-historical context. The analysis of contributing factors to the revolution is followed by a layout of possible implications based on the case study. The thesis estimates the relative weight of various factors of the Orange revolution. Among the primary factors are alternative leadership, civil society activism, economic structure transformation, and excessive coercion. The supportive factors involve demographic structure change, awareness of corruption, nationalism, international support, and affective response.