Democracy “On the March”: Rethinking the Role of Propaganda and the “Party of Power” under Armed Threat

Abstract

The Ukrainian events in 2013 – 2014, which are called «Euromaidan», became the main stage of democratization in the whole country's history. Public expectations regarding the transition from an authoritarian regime to democracy were very high. However, the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has once again made Soviet political controls and information space, which are not always democratic, but effective, relevant. This refers to the propaganda and the revival of the «party of power», which were opponents of democracy. Ukraine has changed the political landscape: the vast majority of political actors publicly call themselves democrats, almost all political parties are placed under the democratic codes. Democratization involves looking for mechanisms of one of the main tasks solving: rational actions transformation of individual and collective political actors to the collective rational action with the satisfaction of public interest. Among the problems that stand in the way of democratization should be called known from the works of Karl Popper «historicism» and the Soviet past as well the «party of power», which is not interested in democracy. Of course, today it is not about creating the Soviet model of the «party of power» (Like CPSU), and not even a model of post-communist "nomenclature oligarchy". The «party of power» after the presidential election in 2014 has undergone some transformations. However, the goal has not changed – a combination of state and party structures to maintain influence in decision-making. After 1991 the «party of power» in Ukraine was formed from pragmatically oriented and deideological higher circles of the old nomenclature, representatives of state apparatus and mass media, heads of traditional sectors of industry and agriculture. The «party of power» is formed around the «territorial» elites, who did not know the interests of the community did not have their own positions, principles, however, had their own interests. Nowadays, by contrast, most of the representatives of the «party of power» try to preserve power through their active participation in the development of political parties with different and opposite programs, including the level of regional organizations. Therefore, the configurations of the «party of power» can be different and unexpected, as well as its ideological component. Creating the coalition of the winning parties in Verkhovna Rada still does not mean a single government strategy. The party of government in Ukraine is formed (even taking into account the pre- or post-election «coalitionality») after the elections to Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with the direct participation of the President of the country. One of the biggest challenges for democracy is not lack of information, but its redundancy. Propaganda directs information «top – down», turns manipulation, agitation and lie into the activities of mass media. In political discourse under the influence of propaganda populism and paternalism are spread. The «party of power» and propaganda are declared the «enemies» of democracy. But, like terrorism at a global level, the threat to independence and territorial integrity requires finding adequate answers. In the new democratic authorities the temptation of returning to proven old Soviet means of influence on society appears. Will they stand this temptation?