Abstract
The paper attempts to explain in civilizational terms the ‘orange revolution’ that has transformed Ukrainian internal and foreign policy. It is also a dispute with the standpoint of the American political scientist, Samuel P. Huntington, and manyWestern politicians who oversimplify the civilizational situation of Ukraine. They assume that Ukraine is divided in terms of civilization and that the main criterion for this division is related to religious denomination. Believers of the Catholic Church are thus supposed to determine the scope of European civilization whereas those of the Orthodox Church determine Byzantine civilization. This theory was falsified during the latest elections when both Catholics and Orthodox Christians from three communities in Ukraine voted for Viktor Yushchenko, a representative of a pro-European option. The noticeable division of the country seems to be a consequence of different levels of civilizational development rather than that of denomination. The pro-Russian option, represented by Viktor Yanukovych, emerged strongly in the industrial east of Ukraine, where nostalgia for the Soviet Union is the strongest and post-Soviet identity is a pre- dominating paradigm of group identity. The agricultural west, free from the Soviet ‘modernization’, and post-industrial Kiev chose the European direction as they voted for the pro-European candidate, Yushchenko. The success of the ‘orange revolution’ and Yushchenko’s victory in the third round significantly changed the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union. The position of Russia in this region was somewhat weakened. It has also raised hopes for the democratization of such countries as Byelorussia or the Russian Federation, at present witnessing the rejection of principles and values of liberal democracy.
Highlights
Uniwersytet GdañskiOstatnie miesi1ce 2004 r. by3y na Ukrainie okresem wa¿kich wydarzeñ politycznych, rozgrywaj1cych siê wokó[3] wyborów prezydenckich, a maj1cych znaczenie dla przysz3oœci spo3eczeñstwa ukraiñskiego
The paper attempts to explain in civilizational terms the ‘orange revolution’ that has transformed Ukrainian internal and foreign policy
They assume that Ukraine is divided in terms of civilization and that the main criterion for this division is related to religious denomination
Summary
Ostatnie miesi1ce 2004 r. by3y na Ukrainie okresem wa¿kich wydarzeñ politycznych, rozgrywaj1cych siê wokó[3] wyborów prezydenckich, a maj1cych znaczenie dla przysz3oœci spo3eczeñstwa ukraiñskiego. By3y na Ukrainie okresem wa¿kich wydarzeñ politycznych, rozgrywaj1cych siê wokó[3] wyborów prezydenckich, a maj1cych znaczenie dla przysz3oœci spo3eczeñstwa ukraiñskiego. Zwolennicy kandydata opozycji w wyborach prezydenckich, Wiktora Juszczenki, by3ego premiera i by3ego szefa ukraiñskiego banku narodowego, w odpowiedzi na nadu¿ycia i fa3szerstwa wyborcze, których dopuœci3y siê ówczesne w3adze, zorganizowali masowy protest, obejmuj1cy zw3aszcza zachodni[1] i centraln[1] Ukrainê. „Pomarañczowa rewolucja” nie by3a wszak¿e tylko wydarzeniem, które zmieni3o sytuacjê polityczn[1] na Ukrainie (odsuniêcie od w3adzy ekipy by3ego prezydenta Leonida Kuczmy i kontrkandydata Juszczenki w „wyœcigu” o fotel prezydenta by3ego premiera Wiktora Janukowycza oraz powrót do pryncypiów demokratycznych w stosunkach wewn1trzpañstwowych), jej konsekwencje maj[1] o wiele szerszy, miêdzynarodowy i cywilizacyjny zasiêg. Artyku[3] niniejszy jest prób[1] interpretacji cywilizacyjnej „pomarañczowej rewolucji” i jej skutków dla spo3eczeñstwa ukraiñskiego oraz systemu miêdzynarodowego, a zw3aszcza porz1dku europejskiego
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