The Color of Money: Privatization, Economic Dispersion, and the Post-Soviet "Revolutions"

What accounts for the "colored revolutions" of the former Soviet Union? Analysis of postcommunist political economies reveals that states that underwent reform saw the emergence of a new capitalist class whose interests sometimes put them at odds with the regime. Following fraudulent elect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative politics 2010-01, Vol.42 (2), p.127-146
Main Author: Radnitz, Scott
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Capitalism
Cross-national analysis
Democracy
Economic elites
Economic reform
Economic resources
Election fraud
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Political development
Political economy
Political mobilization
Political parties
Political protests
Political revolutions
Post-communist societies
Postcommunism
Postcommunist Societies
Presidential elections
Revolution
Revolutions
Ukraine
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Summary:What accounts for the "colored revolutions" of the former Soviet Union? Analysis of postcommunist political economies reveals that states that underwent reform saw the emergence of a new capitalist class whose interests sometimes put them at odds with the regime. Following fraudulent elections, business elites played an active role in financing mobilization and signaling mass discontent, which undermined regime support and hastened regime change. Countries that did not privatize failed to develop an independent capitalist class and therefore faced smaller and weaker oppositions. This argument is demonstrated by analyzing mass protests that toppled regimes in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan, and by the negative cases of Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. It has implications for the study of hybrid regimes, social movements, and postcommunist political development.
ISSN:0010-4159
2151-6227
DOI:10.5129/001041510X12911363509396