Youth Movements and Elections in Eastern Europe

Olena Nikolayenko

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781108416733
• eBook ISBN: 9781108271479
• Topic: Politique et relations internationales
• Subtopic: Politique mondiale

At the turn of the twenty-first century, a tide of nonviolent youth movements swept across Eastern Europe. Young people demanded political change in repressive political regimes that emerged since the collapse of communism. The Serbian social movement Otpor (Resistance) played a vital role in bringing down Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. Inspired by Otpor's example, similar challenger organizations were formed in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Ukraine. The youth movements, however, differed in the extent to which they could mobilize citizens against the authoritarian governments on the eve of national elections. This book argues that the movement's tactics and state countermoves explain, in no small degree, divergent social movement outcomes. Using data from semi-structured interviews with former movement participants, public opinion polls, government publications, non-governmental organization (NGO) reports, and newspaper articles, the book traces state-movement interactions in five post-communist societies: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Series page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Elections as an Opportunity for Political Change
• 3 Youth’s Revolt against the Regime
• 4 Otpor’s Resistance until Victory in Serbia
• 5 Zubr’s Struggle against Authoritarianism in Belarus
• 6 Kmara! Enough of Corruption and Poverty in Georgia
• 7 Pora! Youth’s Mobilization in Ukraine
• 8 The Emergence of Youth Movements in Azerbaijan
• 9 Conclusion
• Appendix: List of Interviewees
• Index