Janus-faced State and Society: Transitions in Ukraine

Abstract

This study focuses on the social structural approach of the reforms in Central and Eastern European countries based on the material of an international conference held in Kiev. In the fist part, we outline the role of elites, classes and civil society both during the system change and after that. Supporting David Lane’s approach we define the terms of administrative, capital and global political classes. In the second part, we examine the developments during the recent twenty years in Ukraine since its independence. This period has a double character: we see West-European democratic ideas and institutes implemented in traditional Soviet mentality and practice. We analyze the successful initiatives of the country striving for independency and the double characteristic institute system built on the above-mentioned dichotomy. We lay special attention to the orange revolution, considered as the most important reform by public opinion, in reality being only a swing towards building democracy. In the third part, we leave the macro-social analytical frames behind and describe the Parliament of Ukraine from inside. Our first impression of an ambiguously complex party system becomes transparent as a result of applying the social network analysis. Based on examining the structure of the legislative body, we discover the development of relationships and dynamics among the political parties, groups and fractions during the four (!) significant structural reforms in the concerned period.