Failing to Meet Expectations

Posted on March 5th, 2009 Austan Mogharabi 1 comment  Print This Post

The NYT carried a story about Ukraine’s economic collapse and the results for Ukraine’s young democracy.

Basically, the economic collapse, coupled with the inability of the political system to effectively deal with rising unemployment, rising debt obligations, inflation and bank runs, has disillusioned Ukrainians.  One Ukrainian stated, ironically standing in the same place where the Orange Revolution began, that: “There will be a revolt,” he said. “And people will come because they are just fed up.”

The problem for democracy promoters is that the Ukrainian people blame the political system – the democratic political system – for their current predicament.  As the artcle makes clear, Ukraine’s proximity to Russia makes the crisis, and the subsequent loss of government legitimacy, more worrisome as Russia will undoubtedly seek to take advantage of any opportunity to undermine the pro-Western, democratic government on its doorstep.

Finally, the situation highlights the need for democracatic systems to overcome partisan divides and provide tangible  improvements in their citizens’ lives.

Update   I felt Jack’s comments should be highlighted as he raises a good point:

And, in the interim, the need for the old democracies’ heads of state to pressure Ukranian leaders to stick with democratic institutions through the crisis.