This article was downloaded by: [VUL Vanderbilt University], [Ararat Osipian] On: 18 March 2013, At: 15:43 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Democratization Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fdem20
Defeating authoritarian leaders in postcommunist countries Ararat L. Osipian
a
a
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA E-mail: Version of record first published: 14 Mar 2013.
To cite this article: Ararat L. Osipian (2013): Defeating authoritarian leaders in postcommunist countries, Democratization, DOI:10.1080/13510347.2013.773316 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2013.773316
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/termsand-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sublicensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
Democratization, 2013
Downloaded by [VUL Vanderbilt University], [Ararat Osipian] at 15:43 18 March 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Defeating authoritarian leaders in postcommunist countries, by Valerie Bunce and Sharon Wolchik, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011, xi + 373 pp., $95.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-1-10700-685-0 In their book Defeating Authoritarian Leaders in Postcommunist Countries Valerie Bunce and Sharon Wolchik offer what may perhaps be characterized as the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the democratic changes that swept through the former socialist bloc. Countries in focus are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Croatia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia. Political leaders portrayed in this study are all too familiar. “Democratizing elections” are investigated in order to solve quite a few theoretical and empirical puzzles, including that of the patterns of mobilization of the opposition forces in different countries and political environments. External influence on elections and the transfusion of successful experiences, along with participants themselves, between states are other issues addressed in this volume. The authors also research the phenomenon of the diffusion of the processes that undermine authoritarian regimes in post-socialist states. Cross-border exchanges in political activism may be explained, in part, by similar agendas and shared goals. No less importantly, Bunce and Wolchik trace the role of the US in the democratic movements and democratizing events that took place in the post-Soviet space. It appears that democracy assistance activities had no unified plan in any of the major political events and that the information flow was directed from the offices in the field to Washington and not the other way around. In a time when autocratic regimes tend to blame the US for importing democracy, destabilizing the situation, interfering in domestic affairs, violating sovereignty, and facilitating protests and public unrest, clarifying the role of US official and US sponsored agencies is crucially important. This volume is thus prime reading for those who seek the answer to whether democracy can be exported, and, if so, what the mechanisms are for putting it into action as well as the prerequisites of success. One good point that the authors situate in the terminology section at the beginning of their study is in reference to the term “colour revolutions”, calling the term highly misleading (p. 27). Instead, they use the term “democratizing elections” throughout the text. Colour revolutions in the post-socialist states are in essence not revolutions at all. And even the most famous of them, the Orange Revolution of 2004 in Ukraine, was certainly not a revolution in its classical understanding, even though the term became a very popular stamp. The authors provide good reasoning for this change in terminology. They point out that: “There are extremely
Downloaded by [VUL Vanderbilt University], [Ararat Osipian] at 15:43 18 March 2013
2
Book review
high stakes attached to launching popular protests in response to fraudulent elections. If the demonstrations succeed, democratic progress is likely to follow. However, if they fail, the regime invariably becomes more repressive” (p. 340). It is hard to disagree with the authors on this point. Indeed, by now it is obvious that all democratizing attempts have failed in those countries that have experienced “colour revolutions” and that the regimes that eventually gained power are demonstrating more and more repressive behaviour. Ukraine is the latest and perhaps the best example of such a regime becoming more repressive. What started as the Orange Revolution gave way to a repressive political regime with a level of corruption and merger of oligarchs and the state in proportions unseen even under Kuchma’s police state. One conclusion the reader may arrive at after reading this volume is that within a decade so-called “colour revolutions” turned out to be failures, regardless of whether they succeeded initially or not. Another possible lesson to be drawn is that all former Soviet republics, no matter how successful their democratizing elections were, essentially remain under the control of the Russian authoritarian regime. And as long as the issue of exporting democracy remains on the radar, Russia’s ruling regime is still wary about the possibility of a significant protest turning into another “colour revolution”. Thus, the book will be an important read for those who envision more “colour revolutions” to come and for those who oppose such democratizing events. Both of these sociopolitical groups would benefit from reading this volume. In addition, the broader audience the book is aimed at includes scholars and students in post-Soviet and European studies. Ararat L. Osipian Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA Email:
[email protected] # 2013, Ararat L. Osipian http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2013.773316
