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Populist orientations of Ukrainians during a full-scale war

stmm. 2024 (1): 80-92

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2024.01.080

Full text: https://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2024-1/7.pdf

OLEKSANDR REZNIK, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Senior Research Fellow, Head of the Department of Social and Political Processes, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

oleksanderreznik@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5201-8489

The article analyzes the populist attitudes in a society that has experienced full-scale external aggression under the conditions of populist rule and the “rally around the flag” effect. Typically, in countries where populists are in power, there is a decline in anti-elitist sentiment and a rise in support for anti-democratic orientations. However, after the landslide victory of populists in Ukraine in 2019 and even during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, citizens demonstrated an increased level of support for populist ideas. In particular, most Ukrainians agree with populist ideas of people-centrism. Public opinion is still dominated by anti-establishment and anti-elitist orientations, despite national unity during the war and support for the current government. On the other hand, while advocating the absolute primacy of popular sovereignty, citizens are divided on whether they want to be represented in politics by an ordinary citizen rather than an experienced politician. Moreover, most Ukrainians do not agree with the expediency of violating the law to achieve a political result. Support for populism in Ukraine is concentrated primarily among economically disadvantaged people living in small towns, less educated, older people, and those with financial problems. At the same time, the populist orientations of Ukrainians during the war were not determined by regional or ethnolinguistic distinctions.

Keywords: populism, populist orientations, war, Ukraine

References

  1. Akkerman, A., Mudde, C., Zaslove, A. (2014). How populist are the people? Measuring populist attitudes in voters. Comparative Political Studies, 47(9), 1324-1353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414013512600

  2. Ash, K., Shapovalov, M. (2022). Populism for the ambivalent: anti-polarization and support for Ukraine's Sluha Narodu party. Post-Soviet Affairs, 38(6), 460-478. https://doi.org/10.1080/1060586X.2022.2082823

  3. Džankić, J., Keil, S. (2017). State-sponsored populism and the rise of populist governance: The case of Montenegro. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 19(4), 403-418. https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2017.1280981

  4. Elchardus, M., Spruyt, B. (2016). Populism, persistent republicanism and declinism: An empirical analysis of populism as a thin ideology. Government and Opposition, 50(1), 111-133. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2014.27

  5. Krekó, P. (2020). Populism in power: The tribal challenge. In: J.P. Forgas, W.D. Crano, K. Fiedler (Eds.), The Psychology of Populism: The Tribal Challenge to Liberal Democracy (pp. 240-258). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003057680-16

  6. Lantos, D., Forgas, J.P. (2021). The role of collective narcissism in populist attitudes and the collapse of democracy in Hungary. Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology, 5(2), 65-78. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts5.80

  7. Reznik, O. (2017). Declarative authoritarianism of the mass consciousness of Ukrainians: Real and fictitious threats to democracy. [In Ukrainian]. Agora, 19/20, 26-31.

  8. Reznik, O. (2023). Populist orientations in Ukrainian society: origins and characteristics of reproduction. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: theory, methods, marketing, 2, 5-27. https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2023.02.005

  9. Reznik, O., Kozlovskyi, O. (2022). Peculiarities of measuring the citizens' populist orientations in the social sciences. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: theory, methods, marketing, 2, 40-58. https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2022.02.040

  10. Reznik, O., Kozlovskyi, O. (2021). Perceptions of state institutions of Ukraine in the mass consciousness of the population. [In Ukrainian]. Ukrainian society: monitoring social changes. 30 years of independence, 8(22), 259-267.

  11. School for Policy Analysis, NaUKMA. (2019). Presentation of the Results of the Survey «The Wave of Populism in Ukraine: Truth or Fiction?». [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://spa.ukma.edu.ua/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/results_survey_populism.pdf

  12. School for Policy Analysis, NaUKMA. (2020). Presentation of the Results of the Survey «Double Standards: What Ukrainians Think About the Reintegration of the Occupied Territories». [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://spa.ukma.edu.ua/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/pres-121120-Donbas-Crimea-populism.pdf

  13. Spruyt, B., Keppens, G., Van Droogenbroeck, F. (2016). Who supports populism and what attracts people to it? Political Research Quaterly, 69(2), 335-346. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912916639138

  14. Todosijevic, B. (2018). Anti-elite orientation and populism in comparative perspective. In: Parties, populism and participation: Hungarian elections in a comparative perspective. Budapest: CEU.

Received 13.11.2023

Populist orientations of Ukrainians during a full-scale war

stmm. 2024 (1): 80-92

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2024.01.080

Full text: https://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2024-1/7.pdf

OLEKSANDR REZNIK, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Senior Research Fellow, Head of the Department of Social and Political Processes, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

oleksanderreznik@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5201-8489

The article analyzes the populist attitudes in a society that has experienced full-scale external aggression under the conditions of populist rule and the “rally around the flag” effect. Typically, in countries where populists are in power, there is a decline in anti-elitist sentiment and a rise in support for anti-democratic orientations. However, after the landslide victory of populists in Ukraine in 2019 and even during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, citizens demonstrated an increased level of support for populist ideas. In particular, most Ukrainians agree with populist ideas of people-centrism. Public opinion is still dominated by anti-establishment and anti-elitist orientations, despite national unity during the war and support for the current government. On the other hand, while advocating the absolute primacy of popular sovereignty, citizens are divided on whether they want to be represented in politics by an ordinary citizen rather than an experienced politician. Moreover, most Ukrainians do not agree with the expediency of violating the law to achieve a political result. Support for populism in Ukraine is concentrated primarily among economically disadvantaged people living in small towns, less educated, older people, and those with financial problems. At the same time, the populist orientations of Ukrainians during the war were not determined by regional or ethnolinguistic distinctions.

Keywords: populism, populist orientations, war, Ukraine

References

  1. Akkerman, A., Mudde, C., Zaslove, A. (2014). How populist are the people? Measuring populist attitudes in voters. Comparative Political Studies, 47(9), 1324-1353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414013512600

  2. Ash, K., Shapovalov, M. (2022). Populism for the ambivalent: anti-polarization and support for Ukraine's Sluha Narodu party. Post-Soviet Affairs, 38(6), 460-478. https://doi.org/10.1080/1060586X.2022.2082823

  3. Džankić, J., Keil, S. (2017). State-sponsored populism and the rise of populist governance: The case of Montenegro. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 19(4), 403-418. https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2017.1280981

  4. Elchardus, M., Spruyt, B. (2016). Populism, persistent republicanism and declinism: An empirical analysis of populism as a thin ideology. Government and Opposition, 50(1), 111-133. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2014.27

  5. Krekó, P. (2020). Populism in power: The tribal challenge. In: J.P. Forgas, W.D. Crano, K. Fiedler (Eds.), The Psychology of Populism: The Tribal Challenge to Liberal Democracy (pp. 240-258). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003057680-16

  6. Lantos, D., Forgas, J.P. (2021). The role of collective narcissism in populist attitudes and the collapse of democracy in Hungary. Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology, 5(2), 65-78. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts5.80

  7. Reznik, O. (2017). Declarative authoritarianism of the mass consciousness of Ukrainians: Real and fictitious threats to democracy. [In Ukrainian]. Agora, 19/20, 26-31.

  8. Reznik, O. (2023). Populist orientations in Ukrainian society: origins and characteristics of reproduction. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: theory, methods, marketing, 2, 5-27. https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2023.02.005

  9. Reznik, O., Kozlovskyi, O. (2022). Peculiarities of measuring the citizens' populist orientations in the social sciences. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: theory, methods, marketing, 2, 40-58. https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2022.02.040

  10. Reznik, O., Kozlovskyi, O. (2021). Perceptions of state institutions of Ukraine in the mass consciousness of the population. [In Ukrainian]. Ukrainian society: monitoring social changes. 30 years of independence, 8(22), 259-267.

  11. School for Policy Analysis, NaUKMA. (2019). Presentation of the Results of the Survey «The Wave of Populism in Ukraine: Truth or Fiction?». [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://spa.ukma.edu.ua/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/results_survey_populism.pdf

  12. School for Policy Analysis, NaUKMA. (2020). Presentation of the Results of the Survey «Double Standards: What Ukrainians Think About the Reintegration of the Occupied Territories». [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://spa.ukma.edu.ua/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/pres-121120-Donbas-Crimea-populism.pdf

  13. Spruyt, B., Keppens, G., Van Droogenbroeck, F. (2016). Who supports populism and what attracts people to it? Political Research Quaterly, 69(2), 335-346. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912916639138

  14. Todosijevic, B. (2018). Anti-elite orientation and populism in comparative perspective. In: Parties, populism and participation: Hungarian elections in a comparative perspective. Budapest: CEU.

Received 13.11.2023

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