Sviatoslav Sviatnenko | Maastricht University (original) (raw)

Papers by Sviatoslav Sviatnenko

Ukrainian society, 2014

У статті проаналізовано громадську думку населення України, Швеції, Іспанії, Угорщини та Німеччин... more У статті проаналізовано громадську думку населення України, Швеції, Іспанії, Угорщини та Німеччини стосовно геїв і лесбійок. Проведено кореляційний аналіз з метою з'ясування факторів ставлення до сексуальних меншин. Виявлено зв'язок між ціннісними орієнтаціями населення та ставленням до геїв і лесбійок. Проведено крос-культурний аналіз державної політики щодо ЛГБТ-спільноти. Ключові слова: геї та лесбійки, державна політика, ціннісні орієнтації, крос-культурний аналіз CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS GAYS AND LESBIANS: UKRAINE, SWEDEN, SPAIN, HUNGARY AND GERMANY The study shows public opinion towards gays and lesbians in Ukraine, Sweden, Spain, Hungary and Germany. Correlation analysis was done in order to find factors which influence the attitudes towards representatives of sexual minorities. The connection between system of values and attitudes towards gays and lesbians was revealed. Cross-cultural analysis was used to reveal the differences in state policy towards LGBT community.

Ukrainian revolution frequently called “Euromaidan” changed Ukrainian society in 120 days and, la... more Ukrainian revolution frequently called “Euromaidan” changed Ukrainian society in 120 days and, later, became a regional conflict and a challenge to a global order. This primary social revolution was followed by value and paradigmatic shifts, middle class revolution, and a struggle for human rights, equality, justice, and prosperity. This study examines values and social structure of Euromaidan. In addition to ethnographic study consisting of participant observations and informal interviewing, data from European Social Survey (2010-2013) and face-to-face survey conducted by an initiative group of sociologists on Maidan were used in order to approach this goal. Results of the study show that values of Euromaidan (Universalism, Benevolence, Self-Direction, Stimulation, and Security) coincide more with European values, especially those of developed Western and Scandinavian countries, than Ukrainian ones. Furthermore, values of protesters find its reflection in deeply rooted Ukrainian id...

Both Canada and the EU have contributed to resolve the Ukraine Crisis. However, while both EU and... more Both Canada and the EU have contributed to resolve the Ukraine Crisis. However, while both EU and Canada are democratic and significant economic powers, and share the Western values of international law and sovereignty, the two responded differently. Thus, the research question that I address in the thesis is: How and Why does the response of Canada and the EU towards the Ukraine Crisis differs? Paradoxically, while Ukraine, showing commitment to European values since the Euromaidan, is far more important in terms of geopolitics and security for EU being at its doorstep and as a part of ENP, Canada has taken strong global leadership and provided non-lethal military assistance, while EU tried to resolve the Crisis in a diplomatic way. In fact, neither realism nor constructivism fully explain the substantive difference in a response towards the Ukraine crisis. However, Moravcsik’s Liberal international relations theory could shed the light on the matter. Indeed, both Canada and the EU are embedded into domestic and international civil society, which places structural constraints on their response to Ukraine Crisis by shaping the underlying preferences on which the foreign policy is based. In particular, I derive three explanatory variables to examine the response differences: strong Pro-Ukrainian community; policy coherence and unanimity of the position over Ukraine; interdependence with Russia as another actor involved. I conducted 12 in-depth interviews with political elites and experts on both Canadian and the EU foreign policy concerning the Ukraine Crisis. A wide range of primary and secondary data, as reports and statistics, complements the qualitative research stage. The thesis proceeds as follows. First, I examine the state of the field regarding the academic analysis of the response to the Ukraine Crisis. Second, I establish the theoretical framework of liberal international relations theory with its focus on domestic policy, and, simultaneously, drive three explanatory variables. Third, the methodology and case selection are explained. This is followed by the analysis of the main findings and a brief discussion. I end the thesis addressing the limitations of the research, followed by concluding remarks.

Ukrainian revolution frequently called the “Euromaidan” changed Ukrainian society in 120 days an... more Ukrainian revolution frequently called the “Euromaidan” changed Ukrainian
society in 120 days and, later, became a regional conflict and a challenge to a
global order. This primary social revolution was followed by value and
paradigmatic shifts, middle class revolution, and a struggle for human rights,
equality, justice, and prosperity. This study examines values and social
structure of the Euromaidan. In addition to ethnographic study consisting of
participant observations and informal interviewing, data from European
Social Survey (2010-2013) and face-to-face survey conducted by an initiative
group of sociologists on Maidan were used in order to approach this goal.
Results of the study show that values of the Euromaidan (Universalism,
Benevolence, Self-Direction, Stimulation, and Security) coincide more with
European values, especially those of developed Western and Scandinavian
countries, than Ukrainian ones. Furthermore, values of protesters find its
reflection in deeply rooted Ukrainian identity. Moreover, Maidan was
consisted of three major groups of protesters: “moralists,” “individualists,”
and “explorers.”
Keywords: Ukrainian revolution, Euromaidan, Revolution of Dignity,
Maidan, values, social structure, Ukrainian identity

I have been living in the Netherlands for the last two months and during this period I have had a... more I have been living in the Netherlands for the last two months and during this period I have had an opportunity to feel a genuine interest towards the so-called “Ukrainian Crisis”. In fact, I am sceptical about the usage of a word “Crisis”. However, under this umbrella we can unite events that took place after Yanukovich’s refusal to sign the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine: the Revolution of Dignity followed by illegal Crimea annexation and unannounced hybrid Russian-Ukrainian war in the East Ukraine. After a couple of conversations about Ukraine and its current situation, I realised that the Russian propaganda is working efficiently. Russia Today (RT) channel is notorious in this respect. The channel, that is nothing but a tool of Kremlin to create a false image among English-speaking world, is constantly using censorship, denying facts and publishing fake news. In fact, the team of StopFake counted hundreds of such cases while monitoring Russia Today. Thus, I myself as well as Beyond the EU feel responsible for giving some sort of an “insider perspective” on the Ukrainian Crisis and, thus, debunk top ten of its Western myths.

The study shows public opinion towards gays and lesbians in Ukraine, Sweden, Spain, Hungary and G... more The study shows public opinion towards gays and lesbians in Ukraine, Sweden, Spain, Hungary and Germany. Correlation analysis was done in order to find factors which influence the attitudes towards representatives of sexual minorities. The connection between system of values and attitudes towards gays and lesbians was revealed. Cross-cultural analysis was used to reveal the differences in state policy towards LGBT community.
Keywords: gays and lesbians, state policy, system of values, cross-cultural analysis.

Zaporozhian Sich was a protected territory near modern Kakhovka reservoir (Zaporizhia region, Eas... more Zaporozhian Sich was a protected territory near modern Kakhovka reservoir (Zaporizhia region, Eastern Ukraine) where the unregistered Ukrainian army, so called Cossaks, was located in the 16-18th centuries. Present-day Euromaidan in Kyiv strikingly resembles Sich in many aspects of its social environment, but also has some distinctive features.

It is December out there, which means it is time to take a stock. I will try to re-think and crit... more It is December out there, which means it is time to take a stock. I will try to re-think and critically evaluate the last year of Ukraine’s history as an independent state. In fact, after being participant and observer of events in Ukraine, from Euromaidan and Revolution of Dignity to illegal Crimea annexation and permanent military conflict in the Eastern Ukraine, I feel myself far older than I really am. As my colleague, Associate Professor of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Mychailo Wynnyckyj once told me: “Maidan is a time machine”. This is, no doubts, a true fact. This year was a challenging one, and, in my view, was the worst and the best year in Ukraine’s modern history as an independent state and I will explain why.

The article is devoted to comparative research of Ukrainian youth priorities in comparison to old... more The article is devoted to comparative research of Ukrainian youth priorities in comparison to older
generation, peers from other countries, as well as in the perspective of time. According to ESS (2004–2011)
and WVS (2006–2008) data, the most important for ukrainian youth were values of Security, Benevolence,
Self-direction and Achievement. During the 2004–2011 years, statistically significant increase of Selfenchancement
versus Self-transcendance values was found. Differences between ukrainian youth and older
generation as well as peers from other countries also most clearly are expressed on this dimension.
Keywords: ESS, WVS, values, Ukrainian youth, comparative research.

Ukrainian society, 2014