The Comparative Analysis of Regional Governors’ Approaches to Fostering Inclusive Political Institutions in Post-Euromaidan Donbas
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Date
2017
Authors
Romanova, Valentyna
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Abstract
This study is inspired by a theory-driven expectation of a co-author of Why Nations Fail Daren
Acemoglu in regard to fostering inclusive political institutions in post-Euromaidan Ukraine
despite the armed conflict in Donbas. I examine how appointing a civil society activist - the one
who used to help the Ukrainian Army during the security operation in Donbas - for a position of
a regional executive in post-Euromaidan Luhansk oblast affects regional governors’ approaches
towards the key conditions of inclusive political institutions: state capacity and power distribution.
State capacity, namely its key dimension of monopoly over violence, is operationalized as control
over the contact line in the armed conflict in Donbas. Power distribution is operationalized as
holding democratic elections. I compare the approaches of three regional executives, including
the one who was the civil society activist, towards state capacity and power distribution. I find
that appointing the civil society activist for a position of a regional executive in post-Euromaidan
Luhansk oblast affects regional governors’ approach towards control over the contact line, but not
towards holding democratic elections. The study contributes to literatures on inclusive political
institutions by analyzing new empirical data in line with the conceptual framework of Acemoglu
and Robinson tailored for its application in post-Euromaidan Luhansk oblast.
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Keywords
inclusive political institutions, Ukraine, Luhansk oblast, regional executives, civil society, article
Citation
Romanova V. The Comparative Analysis of Regional Governors' Approaches to Fostering Inclusive Political Institutions in Post-Euromaidan Donbas / Valentyna Romanova // Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal. - 2017. - No. 3 : Special Issue: Civil Society in Post-Euromaidan Ukraine. - P. 71-89.