Will the colours fade? The successes and failures after the orange revolution in Ukraine

Thesis explores the aftermath of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. The author identifies the most insightful approaches in understanding revolutions today. Structural theories of revolutions and conventional transitology share a negative evaluation of the nature of the Orange Revolution concluding that it is not a revolution. Agency-centered theories of revolutions and the critical school of transitology evaluate the same event positively due to their emphasis on civil society. Analysis of the after-Orange tendencies demonstrates that the negative trends (political instability and power struggles) do not threaten the long-term democratic developments in Ukraine. The positive results of the Orange Revolution (civil society maturity and increased political participation) are fundamental for democratic governance. The author concludes that agency-centered theories are more insightful in studying the new generation of non-violent revolutions, whereas structural theories retain a conservative outlook on revolutions and neglect the positive changes that are the result of the Orange Revolution.