Eastern Orthodoxy in the processes of the post-communist political transformations

It is a sort of truism in the social sciences that since the late 1970s the world has been witnessing the great return of religion into global politics and international relations. Paradigm shift in theorists’ concepts and practitioners’ perception of previously underestimated dimension were tremendously influenced by the chain of events signaled the new role of religion in politics, and among them by the explosive religious revival in countries where the Eastern Orthodoxy was the majority religion which started even well before the collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia. Eastern Orthodoxy is the major religious denomination in 12 European countries, all but two of which (Greece and Cyprus) are former communist states. In this perspective , reasoning over Orthodoxy’s destiny is to greater extent reasoning over the post-communist political development as a phenomenon. Article proves that Eastern Orthodoxy provided post-communist states with symbolism and common ideological ground for both leftists and rightists, former communists and former dissenters, and extended a symbolic framework to the so-called Soviet people who lost the sense of belonging and were searching for their new identity. Orthodox Churches that saw itself and were widely perceived as the historic repository of nationhood, national values, and, quite often, as the savior of a nation's very existence, suggested itself as a main actor in the process of new identity building. Orthodoxy became the primary vehicle for the awakening of collective identity for the groups surrounded by or competed with groups of different religions. This trend was very clear in some of the episodes which marked the first postcommunist decade. Conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, the northern Caucasus and Transcaucasia were given a strong religious emphasis and religion was rapidly turned into the factor of political and national mobilization. At the same time, the aspiration of the newly independent states to gain the independence of their churches from Moscow and Belgrade has created an additional powerful geopolitical source of tension. While the process of bestowing Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine that met with fierce resistance from the Russian state, showed how far Russia could go to maintain ecclesiastical control over Ukraine. And also, what is the role of Orthodoxy as a symbolic and institutional resource in contemporary political processes. Key words: religion and politics, Eastern Orthodoxy, Post-Communist transformations

Anti-crisis resource of memory policy in Ukraine

The proposed article considers the politics of memory as a tool for overcoming crises in contemporary Ukrainian society. In an open information society, memory is a resource of social dialogue, which provides the construction of a conventional grand narrative, multilateral communication of different groups and segments of the population, the search for opportunities for understanding and reconciliation. There is still no general public consensus in Ukraine on the „alien”, anti-Ukrainian nature of imperial and communist power imposed from outside. Political discussions continue on the interpretation of the Russian imperial and totalitarian Soviet past between the bearers of different conflicting models of memory – neo-Soviet, national-state and liberal. In the post-Maidan period, Ukrainian society is testing a wide range of mnemonic tools of historical policy related to the realities of hybrid warfare and the need to change the emphasis in the language of memory. Decommunization has become an essential step towards the dialogic practices of commemoration and departure from the speculative verbal-symbolic arsenal of post-truth. The implementation of new accents of memory policy is organically connected with digital mobility, which provides alternative platforms of mnemonic practices and expands the possibilities of recalling, remembering, reassessing the events of the past in virtual communicative discourse. The author substantiates the thesis about the ambivalence of memory policy in Ukraine, argues that the Russian cultural and informational influence negatively affects the processes of implementation of constructive directions of memory policy in Ukraine, the establishment of national dialogue. Key words: memory policy, social dialogue, hybrid war, commemoration, postmemory, post-truth, digital mobility.

Crises of political development in Ukraine: causes and content

Crises of political development are inherent in countries transitioning from an authoritarian to a democratic regime. In contrast to political crises, crises of political development are inherent in transit societies. Usually they have much deeper and more fundamental reasons related to the quality of the authoritarian political regime, the nature of the transformational changes and are much longer lasting. Іn this article author analyzes the crises of political development that are manifested in Ukraine during the transformation of the political regime. The crises of political development include the crisis of identity, distribution, participation, penetration and legitimacy. The crisis of identity characterizes the disintegration of ideals and values that dominated in political culture of the previous period; the crisis of distribution lies in the inability of the ruling elite to ensure socially acceptable growth of material well-being and its distribution, which causes social stratification and is a constant source of socio-political conflicts; the crisis of penetration is conditioned in the reduced ability of public authorities to perform the functions inherent in the state, which complicates the implementation of reforms and governance; the crisis of participation is conditioned through the creation of artificial barriers by the ruling class for the inclusion in political life of groups claiming power or passivity of society, as a result of which unconventional forms of political participation begin to prevail; the crisis of legitimacy is conditioned in the low efficiency of the constitutional model of power organization and arises as a result of inconsistency of goals and values of the ruling regime with the ideas of the majority of citizens about the rules of just government. The combination of these crises creates a crisis syndrome of modernization and hinders the development of the state in general. In conclusions the author formulates the institutional tools which can reduce the negative effects of crises of political development. Key words: crisis of political development, crisis of identity, crisis of distribution, crisis of participation, crisis of penetration, crisis of legitimacy, financial-industrial groups, political institutionalization, political regime.

The Russian-Ukrainian War in Ukrainian Political Discourse

The proposed article aims to explore the discursive dynamics of Ukraine caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war. The semantic and pragmatic dominants of relevant political texts were revealed by the method of discursive and content analysis. The article considers the peculiarities of the political discourse of Ukraine after the beginning of the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine in 2014. Discursive changes in wartime are analyzed through comparisons with the pre-war state, the leading feature of which was the mode of „brotherhood” with Russia. In the course of the analysis it was established that there was no logical immediate change to a „hostile” discourse with the beginning of the Russian aggression. Ukraine was unprepared for an adequate response to Russia's military aggression not only in real but also in discursive terms. Instead, a euphemistic complex was formed in Ukrainian political discourse to present Russia's aggressive actions as something else, something different. In this regard, an attempt is made to analyze the reasons for the belated response of Ukrainian society, especially the leading echelon of Ukrainian politics, to external aggression. Particular attention as a reason for this state of affairs is paid to post-totalitarian influences, which remain relevant to the socio-political dynamics of Ukraine. Among the key ones is the lack of a full-fledged historical and political narrative and the reproduction of mental schemes of the totalitarian past. Along with this, positive changes in the representation of the Russian-Ukrainian military confrontation as such were identified and studied. The discursive mechanisms of creating a narrative adequate to the military situation and discursive means that oppose Russian aggression are analyzed. At the same time, it was found that in the process of forming a specific discursive order, certain canons and standards of the former metropoly remain relevant in the Ukrainian context. First of all, it concerns the inclusion of substandard elements in the official communicative repertoire as a tool of information confrontation in hybrid aggression. The article concludes that a holistic historical and political narrative is the cornerstone for the formation of national and state identity. Without this, the establishment of a full-blooded state subjectivity of Ukraine appears to be an extremely difficult task. In modern Ukrainian realities, we have not a uniquely specific political discourse as part of a detailed historical and political narrative, but a post-totalitarian discursive surrogate, in the mirror of which even the contrasting notions of war and peace lose the necessary clarity. Key words: Russian-Ukrainian war, political discourse, historical and political narrative, post-totalitarian consciousness.

Transformation of democracy in the information age: the role of new media and civic communication

The article aims to outline the transformation in the functioning of modern democracy as a form of government, to explore the influence of modern media on the mechanisms of its implementation. The issue is raised about the preservation of its fundamental principles during the information revolution (primarily in the media sphere) and changes in the forms and methods of communication of people during political interaction. The model of „monitoring democracy” was chosen as the theoretical and conceptual basis for considering these processes, which is based on the „idea of a monitoring citizen” and which is caused by rapid growth of various extra-parliamentary (non-representative) mechanisms of government. Among them, the most important for us is the rapid development of media instruments, namely social networks. The imperative of elections, political parties and parliamentary life, typical for representative democracy over the last two centuries of the history of civilization, is now far behind the capacity of other actors of public life to influence the political decisions of citizens. The author also points to the fact that technology companies, which have concentrated both information − microtargeting supply of information based on psychological profiling, and business activities, demonstrate a new phenomenon, which is assessed by citizens as the most competent and ethical center of gravity and trust. At the same time, governments, independent public institutions and traditional media are perceived as less effective and ethical. Such a concentration of information and corporate influence in one actor (a small group of technology companies) is a new challenge for democracy. Respectively, basic principles that ensure its functioning as the most successful form of government, namely − election and control of power, protection of human rights, participation of citizens in political life and governance, rule of law and accountability of government agencies, prevention of usurpation of power – nowadays experience theoretical rethinking, and are embodied in new political practices. In addition, they (foundations of democracy) are torpedoed by negative phenomena of the period of transformation and political turbulence, among which populism in all its manifestations is the most threatening. Key words: representative democracy, monitoring democracy, mediacracy, constructive journalism, civil communication, social networks.

Democratic backsliding as a threat of a return to authoritarianism

The article considers the problems of threats to the collapse of democracy, when the components of democracy are at risk. Examples of the collapse of democracy have shown the lack of free and fair elections, which threatens the independence of the judiciary, the restriction of the right to freedom of speech, and the political opposition’s ability to challenge the government, prosecute and offer alternatives to the regime. The government poses a threat to national security in order to create a „sense of crisis” that allows the government to „denigrate critics as pro-government or unpatriotic” and portray defenders of democratic institutions as „representatives of a tired, isolated elite”. With this in mind, the purpose of the study was determined – to systematize the factors of the collapse of democracy. In order to achieve this goal, the criteria of approaches to the analysis of the problems of coagulation of democracy were analyzed and systematized. As a result, the factors of the collapse of democracy include: the weakening of political institutions, violations of individual rights and freedom of thought, which call into question the efficiency and stability of democratic systems. It is established that the problematic aspects are the level of inequality, differences in identity; democratization through bottom-up peaceful protests has led to a higher level of democracy and democratic stability than democratization caused by elites; constitutions resulting from pluralism (reflecting different segments of society) are more likely to promote liberal democracy (at least in the short term); that the threat of civil conflict encourages regimes to make democratic concessions; development in a democratic direction requires collective security; the process of democratization can occur by chance, as it depends on unique characteristics and circumstances; correlation of democratization with democratization of knowledge as the spread of the ability to create and legitimize knowledge among citizens, in contrast to knowledge under the control of elite groups; correlation with the effect of democratization of design. Key words : democracy, democratic backsliding, political regime, democratization, political crisis.

Modern Civilizational Challenges in the Context of the World Reorganization Concepts

The article deals with global forecasting of social development, as well as with the conceptions and possible scenarios for holistic development of mankind. It is justified that contemporary concepts of the world reorganization should consider different dynamics of the country’s civilizational development, its values and traditional culture. The article emphasizes that outlines of processes, oriented towards the formation of a new world order, began to emerge in the 70s of the last century. It is manifested that in modern society, forecasting the future is an integral part of substantiating worldview interpretations of modern phenomena and processes, reflecting optimistic and pessimistic future scenarios, ideals and value perspectives. It is proved that main ideologists and participants in these processes were the Club of Rome, later the Bilderberg Club, the Trilateral Commission, think tanks such as the RAND Corporation, the Santa Fe Institute and others. General principles developed by them were specified in the work of the IMF, the World Bank, WTO, etc. It is defined that since the 1990s, a philosophical-historical and socio-political orientation of a global nature has become a characteristic feature of prognostic concepts. The idea of the „end of history” by F. Fukuyama that validates the post-communist triumph of the liberal-democratic ideas and the onset of historical calm because of liberal democracy victory throughout the geopolitical space. The other one is the „clash of civilizations” idea by S. Huntington, claiming that after the collapse of bipolar world the mankind would face the sharpening of contradictions and the clash of civilizations consolidated around traditional religions. The author concluded that hybrid war, at the epicenter of which Ukraine has been for more than seven years, is not just a local situation, but an element of a new world order that can be defined as a hybrid world order. It is based on a proxy politics technology using information technologies for the collective conscious and collective subconscious systemic manipulations to change person’s or group’s behavior through stimulus, coercion, or conviction. This involves mainly political, economic, informational, institutional, demographic, technical, social, and other resources, rather than military ones. Key words: futurology, global development, civilization, clash of civilizations, information wars, world reorganization, international security, national security.

Two-tier proportional electoral system in Ukraine: cross-regional analysis of the first approbation

The article examines some effects from the first approbation of a two-tier proportional system with „flexible” lists in the local elections in Ukraine in 2020. In the comparative-regional context, the impact of the new system on the increase in the number of invalid ballots is analyzed and the percentage of voters who exercised the right to preferential voting for a particular candidate from the district list of the elected party is calculated. Hypotheses about regional differences in these quantitative parameters are formulated: in particular, the share of invalid ballots may be influenced by ethnolinguistic and urban factors. It was found that about 80% of voters who took part in the autumn 2020 vote exercised the right to preferential voting by entering the number of a particular candidate on the ballot – this unexpectedly high figure is in the context of other national cases using proportional systems with „flexible” or clean „open” lists. Particular attention is focused on the relationship between the two levels of the electoral system – the single closed and district flexible lists, and, accordingly, the balance of influence of voters and party leaders on the passage of candidates to local councils. This ratio was calculated for all oblast councils, and the material of the Kharkiv and Lviv oblast councils determined the empirical probability of changing the order of candidates in the district party lists under the influence of voters. Although supporters and lobbyists called the introduction of a new electoral system in Ukraine a model with „open” lists, the article identifies two key institutional mechanisms for significantly downplaying the role of preferential voting in the final determination of candidates. It is argued that according to the results of the personal distribution of seats among the candidates in the party lists, this model of „flexible” lists was closer to the pole of „closed” than „open” lists. Keywords: electoral systems, electoral lists, Electoral Сode of Ukraine, proportional electoral system, „flexible” lists, preferential voting, invalid ballots.

„Piedmont”, „Banderstadt”, and the „Cradle of nationalism”. Ethnopolitical study of a city

The West Ukrainian city of Lviv is often described as a „cradle”, or „hotbed”, of Ukrainian nationalism, within a broader media-spread narrative that counter-opposes Ukraine’s allegedly „nationalistic West” and so-called „pro-Russian East”. The article questions this quasi-binary opposition at the both formal-logical and substantive level, and examines the factors that informed and still tend to support the „nationalistic” image of the region. It finds out no data-based evidence of a higher level of xenophobia or intolerance in Western Ukraine if compared with other Ukrainian regions or some neighboring states, and concludes that the primary reason for the „nationalistic” othering of the city of Lviv and the Western Ukraine was their defiance of the Soviet rule, Soviet norms and values in the post-WWII period. That defiance had many forms but the most manifestly observable was a brazen free use of Ukrainian in the urban environment, deemed „nationalistic” and stigmatized elsewhere in Ukraine. The article draws on the earlier observations of close connection between Ukrainian identity (nationalism) and pro-Western orientation (set of values), determined by a peculiar development of the Ukrainian national project since its very inception in the first half of the 19th century. The higher patriotic mobilization in Lviv (and in Western Ukraine in general) is seen as the main reason for a higher level of social optimism and apparently exaggerated assessments of personal well-being in Lviv vis-à-vis Ukraine’s average. Nowadays, West Ukrainians and the denizens of Lviv face a difficult dual task: to tackle their burdensome „nationalistic” image and to play the self-assigned role of Ukrainian „Piedmont” that leads both the national revival and social modernization. The emphasis on the latter, the essay implies, might be a good key to the successful managing of the former. Key words: Lviv, Western Ukraine, nationalism, xenophobia, propagandistic othering and stereotyping.