Search

Begin New Search Topic Domestic Politics Journal National Security and Defence

1. The Future of Elections in Ukraine

Author:
Razumkov Centre
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
National Security and Defence
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
The project «The Future of Elections in Ukraine: The Factor of War» was carried out by the Razumkov Centre with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Ukraine in May- September 2024, during the third year of Ukraine’s full-scale war against the russian aggressor. The project included an analytical report, a nationwide sociological and expert survey, an offline roundtable involving experts in the fields of law and political science, and original articles by renowned experts in electoral law. This publication contains an abridged version of the analytical report and the main findings of the expert and sociological surveys in descriptive form. All project materials (in Ukrainian) are available in a special issue of the National Security and Defence journal (№1-2, 2024). '
Topic:
National Security, Law, Elections, Domestic Politics, Political Science, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe

2. Ukraine on the Eve of Election Year: Public Demand, Positions of Political Actors, Outline of the New Government

Author:
Valeriya Klymenko and Hanna Pashkova
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
National Security and Defence
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
Year 2019 is not going to be easy. Apart from challenges caused by Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for March and October will be the main internal political factors further aggravating the situation in the country. The 2019 elections will take place in a challenging environment. First of all, this concerns the ongoing war with Russia, which will try to influence the elections results in efforts to bring loyal political leaders and parties to power in Ukraine. Other negative aspects include the society’s disappointment with current government, coupled with low public support of its institutions, individual political leaders and pro-government political forces. The nature and results of the upcoming election will be further affected by the division of supporters of Ukraine’s European path and the political forces declaring the same course into two camps, depending on their attitudes towards the current government. The rise of radicalism in the activities of some opposition parties, as well as significant growth of populism are quite alarming trends in the Ukrainian politics. Holding both elections in one year with brief interval between them is likely to escalate political struggle, which may result in reduced efficiency of the government with further suspension of the reform processes in anticipation of successive change of the President, the Parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers. The results of 2019 elections should give answers to the following key questions: will Ukraine continue its European integration course approved by the people of Ukraine during the Revolution of Dignity? Will newly elected institutions continue reforms? Which political leaders and forces will assume responsibility for the reforms and their results? Answers to these questions primarily depend on the Ukrainian voters, as well as on candidates and political forces competing for public confidence. The Razumkov Centre’s project “Ukraine on the Eve of Election Year: Public Demand, Outline of the New Government, and the Future of Reforms” aims at exploring current sentiments of citizens who will cast ballots on the one hand, and analysing readiness of political actors and suitability of their political “supply” for society’s “demand” on the other. By doing so, the project is set to outline the new Ukrainian government and its potential policies.
Topic:
Government, Public Opinion, Elections, Domestic Politics, and Campaigning
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

3. Political Culture and Parliamentarism in Ukraine: Current State and Main Problems

Author:
Valeriya Klymenko and Hanna Pashkova
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
National Security and Defence
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
The Revolution of Dignity, countering Russia’s aggression and the controversial, at times painful for society, process of reform implementation in different sectors have significantly aggravated the problem of efficiency of people’s interests representation mechanisms operated by government bodies, as well as the issue of people exercising their constitutional right to participate in the management of public affairs. The evolving relationship between government and society attests, on yet another occasion in the modern history of Ukraine, to the exact same phenomenon: the period of society’s enthusiasm, active, even sacrificial participation in political processes, and high public expectations change to disappointment, despair and apathy threatening to turn into aggression. Electing candidates, who in the moment of elections seemed to match public expectations for government representatives, changes to negative, even hostile attitude with time. The level of trust in elected higher government institutions in such periods drops from highest possible to minimal levels, as it happened in 2005-2009 and 2014-2017. Today, the growing activism of civil society and manifestations of its major creative potential after the second Maidan are combined with the risks and dangers that this energy might become destructive for democracy. This problem has two components: special aspects of people’s political culture, on the one hand, and the efficiency of mechanisms for implementing their political will, representative institutions – on the other. Without understanding these aspects, their mutual influence and correlation, the process of improving democracy institution in Ukraine will keep going on according to the “trial and error” scenario, while political system operation remains doomed to regular crises, which might turn into more “revolutions” at extreme points. Democratic system stability today is impossible without further constructive (not just protesting) participation of citizens equipped with knowledge of political institutions and skills to participate in them. The main goal of the Razumkov Centre’s Project “Political Culture and Parliamentarism in Ukraine: Ways to Improve Representative Democracy” is to use the study of the current state and special aspects of Ukrainian citizens’ political culture, in particular, their attitude to interest representation institutions, and analysis of the most topical problems influencing the efficiency of operation of the highest representative and the only legislative body in Ukraine – the Verkhovna Rada, in order to create recommendations for the development of an adequate policy for citizens’ political culture formation and optimisation of political institutions with the purpose of raising the quality of democratic representation.
Topic:
Citizenship, Domestic Politics, Political Culture, and Parliamentarism
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

4. Party System of Ukraine Before and After Maidan: Changes, Trends, Public Demand

Author:
Hanna Pashkova
Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
National Security and Defence
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
Mass protests of citizens against the сriminal, authoritarian regime of V. Yanukovych, known as the Revolution of Dignity, with its epicentre the Maidan was to be a turning point in the modern history of Ukraine, These events differed significantly in scale and consequences – from the final enforcement by Ukraine of its geopolitical choice, beginning of practical implementation of the course of European integration through reforms in all areas of public life to Russian military aggression, thousands of casualties and the loss of a part of the national economy and sovereign territory. The events of 2013-2014 had a significant impact on the political system in Ukraine. After the fall of V. Yanukovych’s regime and the former president’s fleeing to Russia, the 2004 Constitution of Ukraine was reenacted. All supreme state institutions underwent renewal. The new President and the Verkhovna Rada were legitimised by special elections and a new Cabinet of Ministers was formed. The process began of reforming the constitutional principles of government organisation in relation to its various branches and levels. Ukraine’s party system, which is an important element of the political system in general, also underwent significant changes. The political parties that belonged to the pro-presidential coalition before Maidan (Party of Regions and Communist Party of Ukraine) were removed from power and actually descended from the political arena. A significant reformatting of the political forces representing the new government took place. This part of the political spectrum is represented both by the “old” (“Batkivshchyna”, “Svoboda”) and the “new” parties that entered the political arena and were formed during Maidan or after it (“Samopomich”, Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko, “Right Sector”, “People’s Front”, Petro Poroshenko Bloc). The post-election period was marked by a heightened struggle not only between the new leading forces and the opposition, but also by competition and conflict between the political forces that in the period from November 2013 to February 2014 had acted as a “unified front”. The drastic changes in the party and political spectrum engendered confusion of the public electoral preferences, especially in the part that did not find any equivalent to their established sympathies among the new parties. There are still some free “political niches”, which can be claimed by new party structures. The data of public opinion surveys demonstrate that those political forces, which were enthusiastically received by society during the early parliamentary elections in October 2014, subsequently started losing their voter support. All this indicates that the party system of Ukraine is undergoing a transformation process, a process that apparently will continue at least until the next scheduled parliamentary elections. However, the development of Ukraine as a democratic European state requires an effective and representative political system, which is impossible without effective, institutionalised political parties.
Topic:
Social Movement, Reform, Domestic Politics, Protests, Political Parties, and Euromaidan Revolution
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

5. Ukrainian Parliamentarianism, Parliament and 2012 Rada Elections

Author:
Valeriya Klymenko
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
National Security and Defence
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
F ormation of parliamentarism in Ukraine has been a long and complex process reflecting all the difficulties of structuring the Ukrainian society, imperfect state and party building, and improper political and legal culture of national politics. Now, the country goes through an electoral campaign for the seventh Parliament. However, there are no grounds to speak of established principles and correspondence of the national parliamentarism to democratic standards, a stable legislative framework for parliamentary elections and constitutional status, powers and functions of parliament. Almost every election campaign has taken place under a new law, which changes not only the procedures but also the electoral system; the Parliament’s role and place in the national system of state governance also has been changing. The latest change occurred as the result of reinstatement of Ukraine’s Constitution in the wording of 1996 in 2010. The Verkhovna Rada of the 6th convocation gave consent to that act, having initiated dangerous trends of gradual weakening of the constitutional status of the Ukrainian Parliament, narrowing its powers, and enhancing its accountability to the President. At the same time, there have been trends toward declining quality of legislative process, and deteriorating performance of its representative, statuary and supervisory functions by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. All this has led to a critically low level of public support for the parliamentary activity, which, according to the polls, barely exceeded 4% last year. Such a situation may discredit in the eyes of the Ukrainian society the very concept of parliamentarism as a political institution and democratic principles of state governance as a whole. In such conditions, the importance of the ongoing parliamentary elections has been increasing. Their results will effectively determine the fate of the Ukrainian parliamentarism and key features of further foreign and domestic policy of the country.
Topic:
Elections, Domestic Politics, Parliamentarism, and Parliament
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine