Reading about how almost all Ukrainian presidential candidates are social democrats (in their rhetoric), I came across some nifty political hat collections. Which of them fits best?
On those Ukrainian politicians, political sociologist Volodymyr Ishchenko explains this phenomenon (and disavows them all) in his interview with Jacobin.
The Center for Society Research has released its extensive report analyzing protests taking place in Ukraine between November 21 of last year and February 23, 2014. The report, according to its authors,
“is the first attempt to analyze Maidan based on the results of systematic research on protests, repressions and concessions of protesters in Ukraine.”
Of all the political analysts I trust in Ukraine, Volodymyr Ishchenko has been the most critical of the Maidan and the new government. While his views should be contextualized among others (some of which I have shared on this blog), he expresses concerns that should be taken seriously. The following is his summary of the “new order.”
Ukraine has not experienced a genuine revolution, merely a change of elites
From Volodymyr Ishchenko, sociologist at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Deputy Director of the Center for Society Research (Kyiv), editor of Spil’ne: Zhurnal Sotsia’noyi Krytyky (Commons: A Journal of Social Critique), and prominent activist in Ukraine’s anti-capitalist left:
“Writing from a critical position is not something to be widely appreciated in turmoil times. For some hysterical idiots I’ve succumbed to the fascists, for others–betrayed the Fatherland. Time is now precious and to be used efficiently. This is why I respond to all in a single post.