Color Revolutions and Democracy promotion - Research Paper Example

The term “color revolutions” is largely used in describing as a single phenomenon various non-violent protests that have succeeded in ousting or overthrowing totalitarian regimes during the twenty-first century’s first decade (Finkel and Brudny, 2013). This phenomenon has involved thousands of people who wear colored symbols, take to the streets, as well as show their discontent with the incumbent regime. At the same time, the opposition is legitimized by the same crowds and therefore being able to negotiate political or regime change with the authorities.

The term, geographically, has tended to encompass only post-communist states in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. However, there is evidence that such movements have also been started in the Middle East (Beachain and Polese, 2010). This paper will discuss the color revolutions in Georgia, Serbia, and Ukraine and the process of democracy promotion afterwards by focusing on the influence of outside forces. The Republic of Georgia was one of the fifteen former Soviet Union republics to start a transition towards a state based on democracy and market economy, in 1991, following the disintegration of the Soviet Union coupled with the abolition of both the Comecon and the Warsaw Pact (Stewart, 2012).

The color revolution in Georgia was symbolized by the Georgian Revolution of Roses often translated as “Rose Revolution”. This revolution is seen through five factors: external forces, the people, the civil society, the opposition, and the character of the regime. Ever since Georgia declared itself independent in 1991 under the leadership of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, it was a country in transition from totalitarianism towards free market economy and democracy (MacKinnon, 2008). Political theorists argue that enhancement of democracy is done by individuals embedded in certain