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The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and ardent 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 core question driving this course is whether Zelensky's political project is a symptom of larger shifts in public politics in the region and beyond, related to the erosion of formal party politics and institutional trust, the paramount importance of social media. Misattributing those shifts to right-wing populism is missing the point. The notions of "digital democracy" and technopopulism will be brought into the discussion instead. The course structure consists of three clusters. We begin with the historic overview of post-Soviet transformations of the political scene in Ukraine, and how the Zelensky project fits into the logic of "virtual democracy" (Andrew Wilson) and performative politics (Jeffrey Alexander). Practical sessions will be built around TV series "The Servant of the People" and Zelensky's real-life interventions. The second cluster concerns the growing body of literature on how the rise of social media and the decline of institutionalized party politics transforms the political field across the world. The concluding part will be tapping into structurally similar cases of "digital populists" across the globe - from Javier Milei in Argentina to Sahra Wagenknecht in Germany. Plnohodnotná ruská invaze na Ukrajinu a houževnatý odpor Ukrajinců k ní nejen zvýšily poptávku po odborných znalostech o této zemi a regionu obecně, ale také přitáhly velkou pozornost veřejnosti k válečnému vedení prezidenta Zelenského. Jeho rezonující veřejné projevy na různých mezinárodních platformách přispěly k jednotné podpoře ukrajinské věci na straně globálního Severu, což následně vyvolalo řadu publikací na toto téma – od antologií Zelenského projevů po varianty jeho biografie, žurnalistická vyšetřování a politické analýzy. Od masivních voleb v roce 2019, kdy Zelenskyj získal v prezidentském druhém kole nevídaných 73 % hlasů a později si svou pozici upevnil – opět nevídanou – parlamentní většinou pro svou stranu, tento politický projekt přitahoval značnou pozornost teoretiků a vědců zabývajících se regionem. Politická technologie vítězství ve volbách s vágním slibem a bez jasného politického programu vyvolala doma velký skepticismus, kdy Zelenského označovali za „prezidenta bez kvalit“ (diskuse na Eurozine) nebo kandidáta typu „Waldo bear“ z televizního seriálu Black Mirror (Oksana Zabuzhko). Jeho rétorické strategie byly analyzovány mezinárodně jako součást vzestupu populismu (Andrew Wilson) nebo trendu televizních celebrit / komiků vstupujících do politiky (William Davies). Následné Trumpovy skandály zvýšily Zelenského mezinárodní viditelnost a celkový skepticismus vůči jeho prezidentskému působení. Nicméně plnohodnotná invaze v roce 2022 a Zelenského efektivní válečné vedení změnily perspektivu. Lavina hagiografických knih a symbolických ocenění – jako například titul Time’s Person of the Year 2022 – proměnila Zelenského v uznávaného politika s celosvětovou slávou. Hlavní otázkou tohoto kurzu je, zda je Zelenského politický projekt symptomem širších posunů v politice veřejného prostoru v regionu i mimo něj, souvisejících s erozí formální stranické politiky a institucionální důvěry a s klíčovým významem sociálních médií. Nesprávné přisuzování těchto posunů pravicovému populismu podle kurzu vede k mylným závěrům. Do diskuze budou místo toho zahrnuty pojmy „digitální demokracie“ a technopopulismus. Struktura kurzu se skládá ze tří bloků. Začneme historickým přehledem postsovětských proměn politické scény na Ukrajině a tím, jak Zelenského projekt zapadá do logiky „virtuální demokracie“ (Andrew Wilson) a performativní politiky (Jeffrey Alexander). Praktické lekce budou postaveny kolem televizního seriálu The Servant of the People a Zelenského reálných zásahů. Druhý blok se bude zabývat rostoucí literaturou o tom, jak vzestup sociálních médií a úpadek institucionalizované stranické politiky transformují politické pole po celém světě. Závěrečná část se zaměří na strukturálně podobné případy „digitálních populistů“ po celém světě – od Javiera Mileiho v Argentině po Sahru Wagenknecht v Německu. Poslední úprava: Lochmanová Sára, Mgr. (15.09.2025)
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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:
Poslední úprava: Korablyova Valeriya, Ph.D. (12.09.2025)
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Course schedule - please note that the first session is on 7 October 2025.
Poslední úprava: Korablyova Valeriya, Ph.D. (12.09.2025)
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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):
Poslední úprava: Korablyova Valeriya, Ph.D. (12.09.2025)
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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 (2019-2025) Zelensky's accounts on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) Poslední úprava: Korablyova Valeriya, Ph.D. (12.09.2025)
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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. Two presentations (might be teamwork) during the semester should tap into different clusters of sources (theoretical & practical), enhence the audience's understanding of the topic/phenomenon and be backed with PowerPoint slides. The qualification task is the semester paper prepared under the instructor’s supervision. Use of generative AI tools: The use and citation of generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT or MS Copilot) in seminar papers and other coursework must comply with the decrees of the IMS Director No. 7/2023 and 9/2023. Generative AI tools may be used unless explicitly prohibited by the instructor. However, they may not be used to generate substantial sections of the text or replace the student’s own intellectual contribution. The student remains fully responsible for any content generated with assistance of AI tools. Presenting AI-generated content, whether verbatim, rephrased, or only slightly modified, as one's own work constitutes plagiarism. Every submitted paper must include a transparent statement specifying which generative AI tools were used, in which stage of the work they were employed, and how they were used, or confirming that no generative AI tools were used. If this statement is missing or incomplete, the instructor is not permitted to accept the paper for evaluation. Unless the instructor explicitly prohibits the use of generative AI tools, the decision to use or not to use them rests fully with the student. The student has the right to request that the instructor does not use AI assistance for evaluating their work.
Poslední úprava: Lochmanová Sára, Mgr. (06.10.2025)
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The midtern test will take place in class. Its date will be announced separately. The final paper (between 2-3k words without references) is to be submitted by 25 December 2025. Please note the zero tolerance policy towards AI use and plagiarism.
The grading scale is according to the dean's measure no 20/2019:
Basic interpretation of A-F grading scale:
Poslední úprava: Korablyova Valeriya, Ph.D. (12.09.2025)
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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. Poslední úprava: Korablyova Valeriya, Ph.D. (12.09.2025)
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