Youth Movements and Elections in Eastern Europe

This book examines a dramatic rise of nonviolent youth movements on the eve of national elections in Eastern Europe.

Given the interdisciplinary nature of the book's subject matter, it will be of interest to historians, political scientists, and sociologists. In particular, the book will appeal to readers, with a geographical interest in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. The book may be adopted for use in upper-level undergraduate courses in social sciences.At the turn of the twenty-first century, a tide of nonviolent youth movements swept across Eastern Europe. Young people demanded political change in repressive political regimes that emerged since the collapse of communism. The Serbian social movement Otpor (Resistance) played a vital role in bringing down Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. Inspired by Otpor's example, similar challenger organizations were formed in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Ukraine. The youth movements, however, differed in the extent to which they could mobilize citizens against the authoritarian governments on the eve of national elections. This book argues that the movement's tactics and state countermoves explain, in no small degree, divergent social movement outcomes. Using data from semi-structured interviews with former movement participants, public opinion polls, government publications, non-governmental organization (NGO) reports, and newspaper articles, the book traces state-movement interactions in five post-communist societies: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Serbia, and Ukraine.