Precarious Autocracy
Standstill and Transformation in Ukraine
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Viktor Yanukovych’s victory in the Ukrainian presidential election of February 2010 was not followed by the reforms he announced. Instead there was a return to authoritarianism. Approval for the president and his Party of Regions has dramatically fallen since then. The opposition, however, has benefited little from this. In parliament, the opposition now plays hardly any role; in the 2010 local elections, it performed badly. This fragmentation of political forces plays into the hands of those in power and is actively encouraged by them. Nevertheless, after the parliamentary elections this October, Yanukovych will probably have to seek a compromise with the opposition – unless he is betting on a “Luka-shenka scenario”.
(Osteuropa 9/2012, pp. 37–52)