Respondent

Omar Mohamed Ali Adris

Theme

Non-violent Political Process in Ukraine in Terms of the Democratic Transformation

Defence Date

29.09.2017

Annotation

The theoretical and methodological analysis has been carried out and practical experience of mass forms of non-violent protest organization in Ukraine in the context of world practice has been generalized in the dissertation. The state of the scientific development of the problem in foreign and domestic literature has been elucidated on the basis of analysis and systematization of the scientific sources. It has been proved that the theoretical and conceptual foundations of non-violence as an ideology and resistance movement to despotic power are organically linked with the religious-philosophical guides and pacifism ideas. The basic conceptual models and theories that reveal the specifics of non-violent protest as a socio-political phenomenon have been considered.

The state of development of the legislative, regulatory and legal framework of the peaceful forms of protest in Ukraine organization and its compliance with international practice of ensuring of human rights and freedoms in the context of the right for peaceful protest has been elucidated. Legislative, normative and legal basis of non-violent protest in Ukraine is being in the state of incipience. Without the law of Ukraine, that regulates the order of organization and holding of peaceful gatherings, demonstrations, picketing, strikes and other forms of expression of the citizens on certain issues, this sphere of public relations leaves a wide field for abuses of power towards the restriction of the citizens’ rights to freedom of peaceful gatherings.

The institutional structure of non-violent political protest in Ukraine, the peculiarities of its formation and development have been revealed.  The role of formal and non-formalized institutions in the organization and direction of massive non-violent protests in Ukraine, in particular, the role of the extra-parliamentary opposition, political parties and institutions of the civil society have been found out. Political opposition in Ukraine, including political parties, has not become a stable institution capable to accumulate Ukrainian citizens’ protest potential and to lead the reform movement and modernization of the country’s political system. Instead, the potential of the civil society is gradually increasing, its structure, forms of the methods of struggle for human rights, testifying experience as evidenced by the Maidan (2004) and the  Euromaidan (2013–2014) experience is enriched, as well as the organization of the resistance to Russian aggression in the East of this country.

The content of socio-cultural factors that determine regional identification of the citizens has been found out. Polarized regional identification of citizens, which is based on, the main, socio-cultural and psychological factors, where the issues of language, historical memory, prospects of integration into certain international centers and communities, etc., play a determined role,  has a decisive impact on  the nature and direction of the protest actions.

Comprehensive  and special realization of non-violent political protest actions in Ukraine and in the world under the democratic transition on the example of Central and Eastern European countries, as well as  well as the countries of  North Africa and the Middle East in the course of the «Arab Spring» has been proved.

Key words: non-violent political protest, democratic transition, «color revolutions», Ukraine, Central and Eastern European countries, the «Arab spring», civil society, Maidan.

Dissertation File

Autosummary File