Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T05:22:45.819Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Market Democracy Unleashed? Business Elites and the Crisis of Competitive Authoritarianism in Ukraine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John A. Gould  and
Yaroslav Hetman
John A. Gould
Affiliation:
Colorado College
Yaroslav Hetman
Affiliation:
El Pomar Foundation
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examines the political economy of the Orange Revolution in an effort to understand routes by which less democratic postcommunist countries might break with an illiberal status quo. The fusion of Ukraine's rent-seeking economic interests and illiberal political regime produced an unstable equilibrium that is poorly explained by two leading theoretical frameworks: ‘market reform’ and ‘political competition’ theory. Only by combining key insights from each do we get a full explanation of the pressures that generated Ukraine's challenge to illiberalism in 2004. We examine this story with a particular focus on the crisis-prone nature of ‘competitive authoritarian regimes’ and the related strategic calculations of business elites.

Keywords

UkraineOrange RevolutionYushchenkoYanukovychauthoritarianismdemocracyeconomic reformoligarchsprivatization
Type
Article
Information
Business and Politics , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , August 2008 , pp. 1 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © V.K. Aggarwal 2008 and published under exclusive license to Cambridge University Press 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Åslund, Anders. 2006. “The Ancien Régime .” In Revolution in Orange: The Origin's of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough, edited by Åslund, Anders and McFaul, Michael. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment. pp. 9–28.Google Scholar
Åslund, Anders. 2005. “The Economic Policy of Ukraine after the Orange Revolution.” Eurasian Geography and Economics 46 (5): 327–353.Google Scholar
Åslund, Anders. 2000. “Why has Ukraine Failed to Achieve Economic Growth?” In Economic Reform in Ukraine: The Unfinished Agenda, edited by Åslund, Anders and de Menil, Georges. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 255–278.Google Scholar
Åslund, Anders and de Menil, Georges. 2000. “The Dilemmas of Ukrainian Economic Reform.” In Economic Reform in Ukraine: The Unfinished Agenda, edited by Åslund, Anders and de Menil, Georges. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 3–28.Google Scholar
Balcerowicz, Leszek. 1995. Socialism Capitalism Transformation. Budapest: Central European University Press.Google Scholar
Barnes, Andrew. 2006. Owning Russia: The Struggle over Factories, Farms and Power, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Basiuk, Victor. 2006. “Ukraine: Toward a Viable National Ethos.” In Ukraine: the Search for a National Identity, edited by Wolchik, Sharon L and Zviglyanich, Volodymyr. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Beichelt, Timm and Pavlenko, Rostyslav. 2005. “The Presidential Election and Constitutional Reform.” In Presidential Election and Orange Revolution Implications for Ukraine's Transition, edited by Kempe, Iris and Kurth, Helmut. Ukraine: Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung Pubications.Google Scholar
Binnendijk, Anika L. and Marović, Ivan. 2006. “Nonviolent Strategies to influence State Security Forces in Serbia (2000) and Ukraine (2004).” Communist and Post-Communist Studies. 39: 411–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blyth, Mark. 2002. Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional change in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Boycko, M., Shleifer, A. and Vishny, R. 1995. Privatizing Russia. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Bugajski, Janusz. 2000. “Ethnic Relations and Regional Problems in Independent Ukraine.” In Ukraine: the Search for a National Identity, edited by Wolchik, Sharon L and Zviglyanich, Volodymyr. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Cran, William. 2002. The Commanding Heights: The Agony of Reform, Heights Productions, Inc. documentary transcript. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitextlo/tr_show02.html#7 [Accessed March 18, 2008]Google Scholar
Cramon, Stephan V. and Raiser, Martin. 2006. “The Quotas on Grain Exports in Ukraine: Ineffective, Inefficient, and Nontransparent.” Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting in Ukraine, The World Bank. Washington, DC. (November 27).Google Scholar
D’Anieri, Paul. 2007. Understanding Ukrainian Politics: Power, Politics, and Institutional Design. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
D’Anieri, Paul. 2005. “The Last Hurrah: The 2004 Ukrainian Presidential Elections and the Limits of Machine Politics.” Communist and Post-communist Studies. 38 (2): 231–249.Google Scholar
D’Anieri, Paul. 2003. “Leonid Kuchma and the Personalization of the Ukrainian Presidency.” Problems of Post-Communism. 50 (5): 58–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Menil, Georges. 2000. From Hyperinflation to Stagnation.” In Economic Reform in Ukraine: The Unfinished Agenda, edited by Åslund, Anders and de Menil, Georges. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 49–77.Google Scholar
Duik, Nadia. 2001. “Sovereignty and Uncertainty in Ukraine.” Journal of Democracy. 12 (4): 57–64.Google Scholar
Duik, Nadia and Gongadze, Myroslava. 2002. “Post-Election Blues in Ukraine.” Journal of Democracy. 13 (4): 157–166.Google Scholar
EBRD. 2005. “Transition Report, 2005: Business in Transition.” European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. London.Google Scholar
Egorov, I. 2003. “Yuschenko's Cabinet and Reforms in the Ukrainian Coal Mining Sector.” Mining Technology. 112 (1): 33–37.Google Scholar
Evans, Yulian. 2001. “The Theft of the Truth.” New Statesman. 130: 4562 (November 5). http://www.newstatesman.com/200111050020 [Accessed July 2, 2008]Google Scholar
Freeland, Chrystia, 2000. Sale of the Century: Russia's Wild Ride from Communism to Capitalism. New York: Crown Business.Google Scholar
Friedman, Milton. 1962. Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Frydman, Roman, Murphy, Kenneth and Rapaczynski, Andrey. 1998. Capitalism with a Comrade's Face: Studies in the Postcommunist Transition. Budapest: Central European University.Google Scholar
Frye, Timothy. 2006. “Original Sin, Good Works and Property Rights in Russia.” World Politics 58 (4): 479–504.Google Scholar
Gillingham, John. 2006. Design for a New Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldman, Marshall. 2003. The Privatization of Russia: Reform Goes Awry. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gould, John A. 2003. “Out of the Blue? Democracy and Privatization in Postcommunist Europe.” Comparative European Politics. 1 (3): 277–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gould, John A. and Sickner, Carl. 2008. “Making Market Democracies? The Contingent Loyalties of Post-Privatization Elites in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Serbia,” Review of International Political Economy 15 (4): forthcoming.Google Scholar
Havrylshyn, Oleh. 2000. “The Political Economy of Delayed Reform in Ukraine.” In Ukraine: the Search for a National Identity, edited by Wolchik, Sharon L and Zviglyanich, Volodymyr. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000.Google Scholar
Hellman, Joel S. 1998. “Winners Take All: Politics of Partial Reform in Postcommunist Transitions.” World Politics. 50 (2): 203–34.Google Scholar
Hellman, Joel S. and Kaufmann, Daniel. 2001. “Confronting the Challenge of State Capture in Transition Economies.” Finance and Development 38 (3).Google Scholar
Herd, Graeme P. 2005. “Colorful Revolutions and the CIS: ‘Manufactured’ Versus ‘Managed’ Democracy?” Problems of Post-Communism. 52 (2): 3–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karatnycky, Adrian. 2006. “From Kuchmagate to the Orange Revolution.” In Revolution in Orange: The Origin's of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough, edited by Åslund, Anders and McFaul, Michael. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment, pp. 49–44.Google Scholar
Karatnycky, Adrian. 2005. “Ukraine's Orange Revolution.” Foreign Affairs. 84 (2): 35–52.Google Scholar
Kubicek, Paul J. 2004. Organized Labor in Postcommunist States: From Solidarity to Infirmity. Pittsburgh: U. Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Kuzio, Taras. 2006. “Everyday Ukrainians and the Orange Revolution.” In Revolution in Orange: The Origin's of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough, edited by Åslund, Anders and McFaul, Michael. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment. pp. 45–68.Google Scholar
Kuzio, Taras. 2005. “Russian Policy towards Ukraine during Elections.” Democratizatsiya 13 (4). 491–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levitsky, Steven and Way, Lucan. 2002. ‘The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism.’ Journal of Democracy 13 (2): 51–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motyl, Alexander. 2005. “A Look at the Numbers: Is Foreign Direct Investment into Ukraine Plummeting?” The Ukrainian Weekly LXXIII: 40 (October 2).Google Scholar
Orenstein, Mitchell A. 2001. Out of the Red: Building Capitalism and Democracy in Postcommunist Europe. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001.Google Scholar
Orenstein, Mitchell A. 1996. “Out of the Red: Building Capitalism and Democracy in Postcommunist Europe.” Ph.D Dissertation, Yale University.Google Scholar
Pleines, Heiko. 2004. “The Political Economy of Coal Industry Restructuring in Ukraine” KICES Working Papers 1.Google Scholar
Prizel, Ilya. 2000. “Nation-Building and Foreign Policy.” In Ukraine: the Search for a National Identity, edited by Wolchik, Sharon L and Zviglyanich, Volodymyr. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Prytula, Olga. 2006. “Ukrainian Media Rebellion” In Revolution in Orange: The Origin's of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough, edited by Åslund, Anders and McFaul, Michael. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment. pp. 103–124.Google Scholar
Przeworski, Adam. 1991. Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rustow, Dankwart. 1970. “Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model.” Comparative Politics. 2 (3): 337–363.Google Scholar
Shleifer, Andrej and Treisman, Daniel. 2000. Without a Map: Political Tactics and Economic Reform in Russia, Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Adam. 1776. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. http://www.adamsmith.org/smith/won-index.htm [Accessed August 26, 2008]Google Scholar
Stark, David. 1992. “Path Dependence and Privatization Strategies in East Central Europe. East European Politics and Societies. 6 (1): 17–53.Google Scholar
Stark, David. and Bruszt, Laszlo. 1998. Postsocialist Pathways: Transforming Politics and Property in East Central Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Stiglitz, Joseph and Hoff, Karla. 2005. The Creation of the Rule of Law and the Legitimacy of Property Rights: The Political and Economic Consequences of Corrupt Privatization, NBER Working Papers, no. 11772, NBER, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Vachudova, Milada Anna. 2005. Europe Undivided. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Von Hirschhausen, Christian and Volkhart, Vincentz. 2000. “Energy policy and Structural Reform.” In Economic Reform in Ukraine: The Unfinished Agenda, edited by Åslund, Anders and de Menil, Georges. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 165–188.Google Scholar
Way, Lucan A. 2005. “Kuchma's Failed Authoritarianism.” Journal of Democracy 16 (2): 131–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, Andrew. 2006. Ukraine's Orange Revolution. New Haven: Yale U.Google Scholar
Yekhanurov, Yuri I. 2000. “The Progress of Privatization.” In Economic Reform in Ukraine: The Unfinished Agenda, edited by Åslund, Anders and de Menil, Georges. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 189–214.Google Scholar
Yushchenko, Viktor A. 2000. “Monetary Policy in the Transition to a Market Economy.” In Economic Reform in Ukraine: The Unfinished Agenda, edited by Åslund, Anders and de Menil, Georges. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 94–112 Google Scholar
Zunes, Stephen. 2004. “Nonviolent Action and Pro-Democracy Struggles.” FPIF Discussion Paper. Foreign Policy in Focus. (January 24). http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4923 [Accessed March 22, 2008]Google Scholar
Zunes, Stephen. 2004. Why Progressives Must Embrace the Ukrainian Pro-Democracy Movement. FPIF Discussion Paper. Foreign Policy in Focus. (December 1). http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/500 [Accessed March 22, 2008]Google Scholar
Zviglyanich, Volodymyr. 2000. “State and Nation: Economic Strategies for Ukraine.” In Ukraine: the Search for a National Identity, edited by Wolchik, Sharon L and Zviglyanich, Volodymyr. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar