Ukraine, Georgia, and Belarus: An Analysis of Democracy and Democratic Institutions, Stability, Economic Development, Prosperity, Orange Revolution, Chernobyl

Nations democratize at a different pace: Some achieve high governance standards, lasting political stability, and robust economies; others are lingering in their desires to look and act like their democratic counterparts. While no country strictly follows similar patterns of democratic institutionalization, there is a variable that defines the rate of success of their efforts: their political culture.

This manuscript analyzes the interconnections between the democratic institutionalization of the newly independent states using the examples of Ukraine, Georgia, and Belarus, their political (in)stability, and economic development and prosperity. By introducing the concept of regime mimicry into the field of public administration, the author expands the epistemological frameworks of the democratization school to the phenomenon of political culture. Successes and failures of the democratic institutionalization processes in these countries largely depend on the ways their institutional actors reacted to internal and external disturbances of their domestic political, economic, and cultural environments. While Georgia's political culture revealed the highest degree of flexibility in accepting the externally proposed institutional frameworks and practices, the bifurcate political culture in Ukraine impeded its democratic institutionalization, while the rigid political culture in Belarus completely stalled the process of institutional transformations.

The Strategic Studies Institute is pleased to offer this monograph, which gives valuable insights into the matters of democratization in politically volatile new environments. The three patterns of political cultures identified in the monograph can be easily generalized and applied in most instances of new nation-building projects. The recommendations for the U.S. military and the government produced by the analysis provide the roadmap for short- and long-term partnerships in the countries of post-Soviet space.