Baysha Olga - Democracy, Populism, and Neoliberalism in Ukraine

This book explores the reasons behind the unexpected rise to power of Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comedian with no political background, and offers an in-depth analysis of the populist messages he delivered to the Ukrainian people via his TV show.

Taking a discourse analysis approach, the author draws on two main arguments of critical scholarship: the populist explosion of the recent decade came as a reaction to the inequalities and injustices of the global neoliberal order, and the success of neoliberalism can be explained by its ability to mask itself under attractive progressive covers. Developing these lines of argument, the book demonstrates not only how the populist explosion can lead to further neoliberalization, but also that the euphemizing effect can be achieved by mixing the virtual and the real, as in the case of Zelensky.

This first of its kind study will resonate with any scholar or upper-level student working on populism, neoliberalism, political communication, media studies, political science, European studies, Ukrainian studies, and discourse analysis.

Olga Baysha earned her PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Previously, she worked as a news reporter and editor in Ukraine. Dr Bayshas research is on post-Soviet new media and social movements for democracy and justice.

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Democracy, Populism, and Neoliberalism in Ukraine

On the Fringes of the Virtual and the Real

Olga Baysha

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First published 2022

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2022 Olga Baysha

The right of Olga Baysha to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Baysha, Olga, author.

Title: Democracy, populism, and neoliberalism in Ukraine: on the fringes of the virtual and the real / Olga Baysha.

Description: New York, NY: Routledge, 2022. | Series: Routledge focus on communication studies | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021043817 (print) | LCCN 2021043818 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032132310 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032132853 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003228493 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: PopulismUkraine. | NeoliberalismUkraine. | Communication in politicsUkraine. | UkrainePolitics and government21st century. | Zelensky, Volodymyr, 1978Political and social views. | Discourse analysisUkraine.

Classification: LCC HN18.3.B39 2022 (print) | LCC HN18.3 (ebook) | DDC 306.09477dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021043817

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021043818

ISBN: 978-1-032-13231-0 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-13285-3 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-22849-3 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003228493

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For Mykola Volodymyrovych Antokhov

Im forever indebted to Justin Maki for his proofreading and editing help, keen insight, and ongoing support in bringing my academic publications to life. Thank you for sharing your time, effort, and professional expertise!

DOI: 10.4324/9781003228493-1

This book is about Ukraines latest round of neoliberal transformations, which started in 2019 after the comedian Volodymyr Zelensky scored a landslide victory in the presidential election with his Servant of the People party obtaining an absolute majority of parliamentary seats, empowering him to launch neoliberal reforms without regard to public opinion or the political opposition. The party, whose formation was announced only a year prior to Zelenskys dizzying electoral success, was named after the title of his television series Servant of the People, in which the future president played the role of Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodkoa fictional head of state who, after a fluke ascent to the presidency from his humble job as a history teacher, manages to transform Ukraine into a prosperous country by demolishing the oligarchic system of power and eradicating omnipresent corruption.

The argument presented in this book is that the astonishing victory of the comedian and his party, later transformed into a parliamentary machine to churn out and rubber-stamp neoliberal reforms (in a turbo regime, as the servants called it), cannot be explained apart from the success of his television series, which, as many observers believe, served as Zelenskys informal election platform. Unlike his official platform, which ran only 1,601 words in length and contained few policy specifics, the 51 half-hour episodes of his show provided Ukrainians with a detailed vision of what should be done so that Ukraine could progress.

Zelenskys election promises, made on the fringes of the virtual and the real, were predominantly about Ukraines progress, understood as modernization, Westernization, civilization, and normalization. It is this progressive modernizing discourse that allowed Zelensky to camouflage his plans for neoliberal reforms, launched just three days after the new government came to power. Throughout the campaign, the idea of progress highlighted by Zelensky was never linked to privatization, land sales, budget cuts, etc. Only after Zelensky had consolidated his presidential power by establishing full control over the legislative and executive branches of power did he make it clear that the normalization and civilization of Ukraine meant the privatization of land and state/public property, the deregulation of labor relations, a reduction of power for trade unions, an increase in utility tariffs, and so on.

To analyze Zelenskys progressive discourse that masked his plans for neoliberal experimentation, this book refers to Nancy Frasers (floating signifier, capable of being linked to different associationsnot only to identity politics. As the case of Zelensky suggests, neoliberal discourse may be euphemized through linking progress to modernization, civilization, and Westernization.