The Transition of Power in the Soviet Post-Imperial Space: Problems and Challenges after the Liberation

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

Different countries in the post-Soviet space with specific cultures, politics, history, and personalities had a chance to choose their own way to the future after the Revolutions of 1989-1991. The panel debates how the transition process continued to shape their politics until the present day. Monika Nalepa discusses the reasons for the undermining of liberal democracy and the rule of law in Poland. Jane Curry explains why the Colored Revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine failed to "Till the Soil" for democracy. Dariga Abilova explores the 2019 presidential succession in Kazakhstan in order to understand why the outgoing president Nursultan Nazarbayev opted for his trusted loyalist as a successor instead of his daughter. Yan Vuks examines the phenomenon of lustration in the context of decolonization and demonstrates that lustration practices were connected closely to the decolonization process in Eastern Europe.

Sub Unit

• Politics/Law

Chair

• Linda J Cook, Brown U

Papers

• Why Not Dariga?: Failed Hereditary Succession in Kazakhstan - Dariga Abilova, University of North Texas

• Lustration as a Tool of Decolonization - Yan Valerievich Vuks, U of North Texas

Discussant

• Linda J Cook, Brown U