Repercussions of Changing Levels of Democratic Support in the Aftermath of the Orange and Rose Revolutions (Research Brief)

In this project, I will answer two questions: 1) Why does support for democracy appear to ebb and flow within countries of the post-Soviet region? and 2) What are the repercussions or ramifications of changing levels of democratic values in terms of civic engagement (political participation) and regime support (legitimacy)? The motivation for the project is the question of whether support for democracy has survived in the aftermath of the Orange and Rose Revolutions.

To capture the dynamic processes of value change, I needed data from three time periods: before, during and after the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Rose Revolution in Georgia. Prior to my travel to Ukraine and Georgia in October 2010, we already had adequate survey data on the first two time periods, but we lacked data associated with the most recent elections in these two countries.

While in Ukraine in October 2010, I first finalized the questions to be asked in person-to-person interviews to be conducted throughout Ukraine during the same month. Upon finalizing questions, interviewers went into the field. In Georgia, we discussed the comparability of the 2008 Georgian and the 2010 Ukrainian presidential elections and I negotiated access to a post-presidential election survey that had already been conducted in Georgia.

Download the pdf at the top of this page for the full brief.

Vicki Hesli, of the University of Iowa, was a 2010-11 Short-Term Travel Grants (STG) fellow.