The Zelensky Phenomenon: the Rise of Audience Democracy and Performative Politics in Ukraine - JTB337

• Title: The Zelensky Phenomenon: the Rise of Audience Democracy and Performative Politics in Ukraine
• Czech title: Fenomen Zelenskyj: vzestup divácké demokracie a performativní politiky v Ukrajině
• Guaranteed by: Department of Russian and East European Studies (23-KRVS)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2022
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 6
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:1/1, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: 16 / unknown (20)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment; priority enrollment if the course is part of the study plan
• Guarantor: Valeriya Korablyova, Ph.D.
• Teacher(s): Valeriya Korablyova, Ph.D.
• Class: Courses for incoming students

Annotation

Last update: Valeriya Korablyova, Ph.D. (06.02.2024)

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and successful resistance of Ukrainians to it not only increased demand for the expert knowledge on the nation and the region at large but also drew huge public attention to the war leadership of President Zelensky. His resonant public speeches on various international platforms contributed to the unified support to the Ukrainian cause on the side of the global North, which in turn triggered a number of publications on the matter – from anthologies of Zelensky’s speeches to variants of his biography, journalist investigations, and political analysis.

Ever since the landslide elections in 2019, when Zelensky received unprecedented for the Ukrainian context 73% of votes in the presidential runoff and later on secured his positions through the – again, unprecedented – parliamentary majority for his party, this political project has attracted significant attention of theorists and scholars working on the region. The political technology of winning the elections with vague promise and no clear political program caused lots of skepticism domestically to dub Zelensky “president without qualities” (Eurozine discussion) or the ‘Waldo bear’ candidate from the Black Mirror TV series (Oksana Zabuzhko). His rhetorical strategies were analyzed internationally as either part of the rising trend of populism (Andrew Wilson) or of TV celebrities / comedians going into politics (William Davies). Subsequent Trump-related scandal increased both Zelensky’s international visibility and the overall skepticism towards his presidency. However, the full-blown invasion in 2022 and Zelensky’s efficient wartime leadership shifted the perspective. An avalanche of hagiographic books and signs of symbolic recognition – like the Time’s 2022 Person of the Year award – turned Zelensky into an acclaimed politician with the global fame.

The course structure consists of two clusters – theoretical and practical sessions.

Theoretical classes will tackle literature on recent shifts in public politics bringing a set of useful notion to the discussion, e.g. “political performativity” (Jeffrey C. Alexander; Judith Butler), “audience democracy” (Bernard Manin), “disintermediation of politics” (Nadia Urbinati), “technopopulism” (Bickerton & Invernizzi Accetti), “virtual politics” (Andrew Wilson), “online democracy” (Paolo Gerbaudo), “ocular democracy” (Jeffrey E. Green) etc.

Practical sessions will focus on discourse analysis of video content: TV series “Servant of the People” (2015-2019); Zelensky’s addresses to Ukrainian people (2019-2022); Zelensky’s speeches to the international audience (2022-23).

Aim of the course

Last update: Valeriya Korablyova, Ph.D. (06.02.2024)

The course is aimed at exposing the specificity of Zelensky’s political project and the causes of its success, both in the domestic and in the international context. To that end, it would be put in a broader context of tectonic changes in public politics related to the rise of social media and demise of traditional party structures as well as political transformations in post-1991 Ukraine.

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

• discuss recent shifts in public politics using relevant notions and conceptual approaches;
• differentiate between related concepts describing political performativity and the role of social media in public politics;
• differentiate between various types of populism;
• master practical skills of qualitative discourse-analysis;
• get the basic understanding of the logic of political developments in post-1991 Ukraine;
• orient in the political landscape of the present-day Ukraine;
• discuss the main tropes and strategies of Zelensky’s public rhetoric;
• describe internal transformations of Zelensky’s political project in the light of external challenges;
• explain Zelensky’s success in the information war with Russia.  

Descriptors

Last update: Valeriya Korablyova, Ph.D. (06.02.2024)

Course schedule

Week 1	Introduction
Week 2	Guest lecture
Week 3	Political performativity: various framings
Week 4	Practical session: “Servant of the People”, season 1 (2015)
Week 6	Digitalization of the political sphere: the rise of social media
Week 7	Practical session: “Servant of the People”, season 2 (2017)
Week 8	Practical session: “Servant of the People”, season 3 (2019)
Week 9	Technopopulism: political mobilization of hope
Week 10	Practical session: electoral campaign and early stages (2019)
Week 11	Practical session: wartime leadership (2022-23)
Week 12	Concluding session

 

Course completion requirements

Last update: Bc. Sára Lochmanová (05.02.2024)

According to the Dean's provision, the teacher evaluates the student's performance in the percentages assigned to grades A to F (https://fsv.cuni.cz/opatreni-dekanky-c-20/2019):

• 91% and more   => A
• 81-90%             => B
• 71-80%             => C
• 61-70%             => D
• 51-60%             => E
• 0-50%               => F

More in SMĚRNICE S_SO_002: Organizace zkouškových termínů, kontrol studia a užívání klasifikace A–F na FSV UK.

Literature

Last update: Valeriya Korablyova, Ph.D. (06.02.2024)

Conceptual sources:

Alexander, Jeffrey C. (2011). Performance and Power. Polity Press.

Bickerton, Christopher J.; & Invernizzi Acetti, Carlo (2021). Technopopulism. The New Logic of Democratic Politics. Oxford University Press.

Fitzgerald, Sandy (2015). Spectators in the Field of Politics. Palgrave Macmillan.

Gerbaudo, Paolo (2019). The Digital Party. Political Organization and Online Democracy, Pluto Press.

Green, Jeffrey Edward (2010). The Eyes of the People. Democracy in an Age of Spectatorship. Oxford University Press.

Korablyova, Valeria (2021). Re-conceptualizing post-Soviet elections: between the theatre state and ocular democracy. In: Langenohl, Andreas; Schmäing, Sophie (eds.). Topos, # 2: Voting over contested issues – voting as a contested issue, 124-147.

Levitsky, Steven; & Way, Lucan A. (2010). Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Manin, Bernard (1997). The Principles of Representative Government. Cambridge University Press.

Onuch, Olga, & Hale, Henry E. (2023) The Zelensky Effect, Oxford University Press.

Pisano, Jessica (2022). Staging Democracy: Political Performance in Ukraine, Russia, and Beyond. Cornell University Press.

Ranciere, Jacque (2011). The Emancipated Spectator. London: Verso.

Rosanvallon, Pierre (2008). Counter-Democracy. Politics in an Age of Distrust. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Runciman, David (2018). Technological takeover! In: Runciman, David. How Democracy Ends. Profile Books Ltd, Ch. 3: 202-269.

Urbinati, Nadia (2014). Democracy Disfigured. Opinion, Truth, and the People. Cambridge University Press.

Urbinati, Nadia (2019). Me the People: How Populism Transforms Democracy, Harvard University Press.

Wilson, Andrew (2005). Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World. New Haven & London, Yale University Press

 

Primary sources:

TV series “Servant of the People” (2015-2019)

Zelensky’s addresses and speeches: president.gov.ua (2019-2023)

Zelensky's accounts on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube)

Teaching methods

Last update: Valeriya Korablyova, Ph.D. (06.02.2024)

The course combines theoretical and practical sessions. Theoretical classes start with the instructor’s lecture followed by joint discussion of assigned literature.

For practical classes, students must watch ascribed videos and prepare to analyze them. Several position papers are to be written during the semester.

The qualification task is the semester paper prepared under the instructor’s supervision.

Requirements to the exam

Last update: Valeriya Korablyova, Ph.D. (06.02.2024)

Assignment	Weight in Final Grade	Evaluated Student Learning Outcomes
Active Class Participation	15%	Engagement in class discussion, demonstrating the knowledge gained from assigned weekly reading and other sources; making own point, asking and answering questions.
Presentation	30%	Ability to deconstruct analyzed video materials and present their original interpretation using theoretical sources for conceptualization and framing.
Position papers	15%	3 papers combining theoretical and practical assignments: theoretical – demonstrate the ability to present the author’s main argument and state own attitude towards them; practical – concise analysis of the plot and underlying tropes and technics.
Final Paper	40%	Ability to understand the main ideas, concepts and case studies covered; define a problem and look for answers; write in a clear, academic style; use cohesive argument.
TOTAL	100%

 

The grading scale is according to the dean's measure no 20/2019:

• 91% and more   =>       A
• 81-90%             =>          B
• 71-80%             =>          C
• 61-70%             =>          D
• 51-60%             =>          E
• 0-50%                =>         F

Basic interpretation of A-F grading scale:

• A – excellent (outstanding performance with only minor mistakes)
• B – very good (above average performance with some mistakes)
• C – good (overall good performance with a number of notable mistakes)
• D – satisfactory (acceptable performance with significant mistakes)
• E – sufficient (performance fulfils only minimum criteria)
• F – insufficient/failed (more effort needs to be made).

Entry requirements

Last update: Valeriya Korablyova, Ph.D. (06.02.2024)

A reasonable level of oral and writing skills in English is an entry requirement, as all the assigned literature and class discussions are in English. Primary sources are dubbed in English as well.

Pre-existing knowledge on Ukrainian politics is an advantage, not a necessary prerequisite.

Previous experience with media studies and discourse analysis would be a plus.

Curiosity and an open mindset would facilitate your work during the semester, while the ability and willingness to engage in meaningful discussions will create a productive space for peer learning.