The Ukrainian Crisis: A Case of ‘New Orientalism’
Olena Lyubchenko
The Ukrainian Crisis: A Case of ‘New Orientalism’During the 2013 Ukrainian Euromaidan uprising and in its aftermath, many politicians, journalists, as well as academics diagnosed the Ukraine Crisis to be a manifestation of middle- class aspirations for a total social, political, and economic integration with the EU. Although correct in part, this account overlooks the heterogeneity of the Euromaidan participants and the role played by radical right and nationalist groups. This paper examines the problematic coalition between liberalism and the radical right factions in the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine. More specifically, it suggests the liberal project that is taking place in Ukraine depends on a specific form of the friend-enemy distinction of ‘New Orientalism’. By doing so, this paper presents a reading of Euromaidan through Carl Schmitt’s critique of liberalism. The discussion concludes with suggesting a political economy analysis of separatism in the Donbass region.
