Building Democracy in Ukraine - The Role of post-Soviet Identities

Abstract: This thesis aims to explore the relevance of identities for the support of democracy in Ukraine. It elaborates on the assumption that the identity's construction affects which ideas are embraced and sets out to test whether a civic as opposed to ethnic identity construction would correlate with the embracing and pursuit of the idea of democracy. Material gathered during a Minor Field Study - interviews with analysts and orange revolutionaries - was analysed for direction of identification using a Self/Other nexus, and this was interpreted using a civic/ethnic dichotomy in order to find out the identity construction. The results showed that Russia was seen as the Other, symbolising the Soviet Union, Europe was object to positive identification, but the strongest self-identification was with Ukraine itself. This suggests that the processes of building democracy and nation are intimately connected and mutually reinforcing in Ukraine, possibly with empowerment as a common and linking denominator. The conclusion suggests a more dynamic than dichotomised view on civic and ethnic identities' role in democracy building.