Color revolutions

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The four color revolutions from 2003 to 2005 (English). The uprising in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), which led to the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000 , is also recorded. This uprising is sometimes counted as part of the color revolutions because of its historical connection.

Color revolutions is a term for unarmed, mostly peaceful, but not always non-violent regime changes since the early 2000s, which are named after an identification-forming color or a generally positive plant (such as rose , tulip , cedar ). The initiators and supporters of these " revolutions " are mostly students , especially those who have spent part or all of their studies in western countries.

Overview

Rose Revolution in Tbilisi, 2003
Orange Revolution in Lviv , 2004

Four revolutions are considered to be color revolutions in the narrower sense:

These revolutions were successful. By contrast, protests in Belarus in 2006 failed after five days, modeled on the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

Further uprisings have been named after this pattern by the international media, for example:

The actors in the color revolutions are young, mostly speak excellent English and have studied in western countries. Their actions of civil disobedience were carried out using modern marketing methods and communication media . During the revolutionary phase, the organizers produced new messages every day, which were conveyed to the locally represented international media and commented on with background information. Reports from BBC World , CNN and Al Jazeera then had a direct impact on their own country and animated hundreds of thousands of people to demonstrate. A comparable development appears to be emerging in Morocco in November 2016.

While the color revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan forced an abrupt change to more "democratic" conditions, in Russia the changes are taking place very slowly, without sharp breaks, through a variety of forms of protest, involvement in the establishment, in the economy and in elections . Brian Whitmore of Radio Free Europe uses the term Tortoise Revolution to describe this process . In Russia, only tenacity, suffering and patience would lead to political and social change.

The geopolitical orientation of the regimes or governments against which the protests are directed are also very different. For example, in the Orange Revolution against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych , who practiced a rocking policy between the EU and Russia , in Tunisia against the dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who is close to the West .

Origin and Spread

The model of a peaceful transfer of power in non-pro-Western ruled countries supported by West-funded non-governmental organizations - the "myth of western infiltration" - was first used in Slovakia . There, the platform Občaňská kampaň '98 made a significant contribution to the removal of Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar in 1998. In Yugoslavia, the model was further developed when Slobodan Milošević was replaced in 2000.

The official triggers in the three post-Soviet states Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan were allegations of election fraud . In Lebanon, anger over the assassination attempt on a former prime minister sparked the Cedar Revolution .

In Georgia, the opposition TV broadcaster Rustavi 2 ensured that the Otpor lessons were spread nationwide : a few days before the Rose Revolution, it broadcasted detailed documentation of the Serbian uprising twice. The organizers of Otpor have now founded an international consulting institute, the Belgrade Center for applied nonviolent action and strategy - CANVAS (German Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategy ).

Following the Serbian pattern, color revolutionary youth movements are now active in Azerbaijan ( YOX , German no ), Belarus ( Zubr , German wisent ), Uzbekistan ( Bolga , German hammer ) and Egypt ( Kifaya , German enough ). For a meeting in Tirana in June 2005, 80 delegates from eleven countries came together who want to emulate them. YOX aims for a green revolution in Azerbaijan, Subr a cornflower blue revolution in Belarus.

US Formations and Support

A number of journalists and publicists critical of the media, such as Ian Traymor, F. William Engdahl and Udo Ulfkotte, claim to have been able to provide evidence of non- material, material and logistical support for the color revolutions by US government agencies, intelligence services and US-funded NGOs since the 2000s . Likewise, a report by the Spiegel in 2005 reported on massive support for local activist groups by US authorities and institutions. However, there is disagreement about the assessment of motivation. While said Spiegel journalists see only altruistic intentions in US activities such as supporting democracy and human rights and thus unreservedly adopt the self-portrayal of US sponsors, Ulfkotte, Engdahl and others accuse the US of "US-friendly regime changes" Wanting to enforce the New World Order as defined by George HW Bush's speech on September 11, 1990.

The Washington Post reported that the US put in $ 77 million in the run-up to the September 24, 2000 Yugoslav elections. They served u. a. to provide the opposition parties with computers, fax machines and other office equipment and to train their members for party work. A New York company also conducted opinion polls in Serbia. Trade unions and student groups also got money. The action was closely coordinated with the European allies and was partly carried out via Hungary. Funding for the payment of trainers and campaign managers for the color revolutions has so far flowed mainly from the USA and Western Europe. One of the most famous trainers is Robert Helvey, a former employee of the US military intelligence service DIA . The US foundations Freedom House and National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as well as the private Open Society Institute of George Soros made several million US dollars available. An April 2011 article in the New York Times confirmed the systematic training of youth by US institutions. Named was a meeting in New York City in 2008 for Egyptian activists, which was supported by Facebook , Google , Columbia Law School and the State Department .

Organizations

In the 20th century, the US governments relied on the cooperation of the CIA , USAID and other US authorities with local activists and opposition politicians when it came to regime changes . Freedom House and National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as well as the NGOs funded by George Soros , especially the Open Society Institute, are particularly active and leading in this regard .

techniques

The central means is the selection and training of small groups. In the current crisis, communication takes place via prepaid cell phones for the purpose of faster and more flexible formation of demonstration groups ( flash mob ), and in the second half of the 2000s increasingly via the Internet, especially using Facebook and Twitter pseudonyms and cell phone films on YouTube . In order to avoid surveillance of Twitter and Facebook in Libya, insurgents used hidden messages on wedding portals on the Internet, for example to convey how many armed men were with them. With the permanent occupation of the most important square in the respective capital, maximum public is possible.

Reactions

In an interview with the Russian TV broadcaster "Mir" in April 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his country's determination to fight the "colored revolutions". For this one is ready to give the “partner states” in the organization of the Treaty on Collective Security (CSTO) “full support”.

literature

  • Joerg Forbrig (Ed.): Revisiting Youth Political Participation: Challenges for research and democratic practice in Europe . Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 2005, ISBN 92-871-5654-9 .
  • Joshua A. Tucker: Enough! Electoral Fraud, Collective Action Problems, and the Second Wave of Post-Communist Democratic Revolutions . Working paper presented at the first annual Danyliw research seminar on the study of contemporary Ukrainian history, Ottawa, September 30 to October 1, 2005.
  • Shinkichi Fujimori, Hirotake Maeda, Tomohiko Uyama: "Minshuka kakumei" to wa nandatta no ka: Gurujia, Ukuraina, Kuruguzusutan [ Eng . Comparative analysis of the "color revolutions" Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan ]. Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido Daigaku Surabu Kenkyu Senta, 2006
  • Pavol Demeš, Joerg Forbrig (Eds.): Reclaiming Democracy: Civil Society and Electoral Change in Central and Eastern Europe German Marshall Fund , November 14, 2011
  • Anselm Weidner: Overthrowing the dictatorship and exporting democracy. The “Young International” as the fifth column. In: Sheets for German and International Politics , No. 9, 2007
  • Ron Nixon: US Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings. In: New York Times , April 14, 2011.
Manuals

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Renate Flottau , Erich Follath, Uwe Klussmann, Georg Mascolo , Walter Mayr, Christian Neef: Die Revolutions-GmbH . In: Der Spiegel . No. 46 , 2005, pp. 178-199 ( online ). Dream of spring . In: Der Spiegel . No.  47 , 2005, p. 184-194 ( online ). Quote: "The Americans help with the popular uprisings with money and logistics."
  2. ↑ a b Ron Nixon: US Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings. In: New York Times . April 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ Hans-Christian Rößler: A fishmonger as a "martyr". In: FAZ.net . November 3, 2016, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  4. ^ Brian Whitmore: The Tortoise Revolution . Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty , September 11, 2013.
  5. ^ The "Turtle Revolution" - Russia's Special Kind of Change . In: Eurasisches Magazin , Issue 8–13, August 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ Friedrich Schmitt: The fairy tale of the western infiltration . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . No. 190 . Frankfurt August 17, 2020, p. 3 .
  7. ^ Hannes Hofbauer, David X. Noack: Slovakia: The arduous way to the west. Promedia Verlag, Vienna, 2012, ISBN 978-3-85371-349-5 , p. 116.
  8. ^ Ian Traynor: US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev. In: The Guardian , November 26, 2004.
  9. ^ A b c F. William Engdahl : Egypt's Revolution: Creative Destruction for a 'Greater Middle East'? (PDF; 121 kB) - February 5, 2011, 9 pp.
  10. ↑ Udo Ulfkotte : The war in the dark. The real power of the secret services. Heyne, Munich, 2008, ISBN 978-3-453-60069-0 , pp. 255 ff., 544 pp.
  11. ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung , October 7, 2000.
  12. ↑ US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev - The Guardian
  13. ^ Georg Mascolo : Robert Helvey. The tumbler . In: Spiegel Online . November 21, 2005.
  14. ↑ Marina Schmidt: Exporters of the Gentle Revolution. Otpor - or how do you become a revolutionary? ( Memento from November 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: tagesschau.de , July 30, 2010.
  15. ↑ böl: Instead of Facebook and Twitter. Revolutionaries organize themselves through the wedding portal. In: Spiegel Online , February 27, 2011
  16. ↑ Путин заявил, что власти не допустят "цветных революций" в России . In: РИА Новости . April 12, 2017 ( ria.ru [accessed October 9, 2017]).
  17. ^ Nicole Markwald: A booklet with global impact. ( Memento from January 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) - Tagesschau.de , on February 20, 2011.