Colorful Revolutions and the CIS: "Manufactured" versus "Managed" Democracy?

In: Problems of post-communism, Band 52, Heft 2, S. 3-18

Abstract

In the light of Viktor Yushchenko's victory over Viktor Yanukovych in the Ukrainian run-off presidential elections of November 21 & December 26, 2004, as well as that of other recent political turnabouts in nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), this article examines the thesis that the Ukrainian "Orange Revolution" & other such revolutions were manufactured by Western agents with the intent of gradually encircling, & eventually overtaking, Russia with a political tide. Many related allegations are considered & analyzed, & the recent revolutionary movements in CIS states are compared for potentially revealing similarities. The potential impact on states in Central Asia and the Caucasus are also considered. It is argued that this scenario of manufactured revolutions is probably not realistic; however, the fact that the possibility of such a scenario is taken seriously by many people in the region, it is suggested, will continue to have an impact on regional politics regardless of whether or not the scenario is realistic. 3 Tables. R. K. Brown