Elites and masses in the political process in Ukraine since 1991
Abstract This article analyses the political process in the present day Ukraine with a focus on the ruling elites and masses and attempts to explain what keeps the country from successful transition. It is argued that the mere existence of the formal attributes of democracy such as elections and party system are not enough. The nature of the social relation, inherited by Ukraine from socialist rule and the deeply ingrained behaviour and value system of both masses and elites is one of the major factors hindering democratisation. To substantiate this claim, the article examines the public stances, attitudes, composition, and character of the ruling elite, and the institutions through which it exerts its political influence. The final part is devoted to an exploration of the social preconditions for change in light of the recent political events connected with the rise of the opposition.
Ukraine’s diverging space-economy: The Orange Revolution, post-soviet development models and regional trajectories
This paper considers the evolution of Ukraine’s space-economy from 1990 to 2009, paying particular attention to comparative regional economic performance during the country’s expansionary phase from 1999 to 2008. This shows that Ukraine inherited from the Imperial and Soviet eras a space-economy that was amongst the most unbalanced in Europe. Furthermore post-Soviet regional trajectories intensified these territorial imbalances. The paper argues that these trajectories are linked to a wider political economy and especially to shifts in underlying development models and the characteristics of state power. The Orange Revolution marked a significant switch away from export-led industrial growth, which involved national accumulation towards a credit-fuelled consumption model that was reliant on importing foreign capital. The paper identifies three major types of specialized regional economy that persisted despite the change in development model. Nonetheless, their relative performance and contribution to national growth were affected by the shift in model. Centripetal tendencies were reinforced, which increased regional divergence. The paper argues that the Ukrainian space-economy is best understood as a series of historically rooted and relatively geographically bounded regional economies that are increasingly functionally integrated yet externally oriented.
Capital Accumulation and Women's Labour in Asian Economies
* Contents * Foreword by Gerrit Huizer * 1. Feminism and the conceptualization of women's labour in Asian economies. * PART I: The Discourse on Women's Labour in Historical Perspective * 2. The patriarchal bias of working class theoreticians: Marx and Proudhon. 3. The proletarian women's movement in Germany and women's labour. 4. The legacy of the second feminist wave: the debate on household labour revisited. * PART II: The Industrial Work of Women in India and Bangladesh * 5. Home-based women labourers in the garment industry in West Bengal. 6. Wage slavery among women garment workers in the factory system in Bangladesh. 7. The German feminist school and the thesis of housewifization. * PART III: Women's Role as Agricultural Producers * 8. Developmental feminism and peasant women's labour in Bangladesh. 9. The ecofeminist discourse in India. 10. The German feminist school and the thesis of subsistence labour. * PART IV: Japanization and Women's Labour * 11. The Japanese style of management and Fordism compared. 12. Japanese women as a vast reserve army of Labour. 13. Conclusion: capital accumulation in contemporary Asia