Democratic Breakthroughs and Revolutions in Five Post-Communist ...

17the oppositions attempts at creating united coalitions (New Politics [YeS], Azadliq)have been accompanied by bitter in fighting and an inability to put forwardconvincing alternatives to the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan party.Youth Politics 12Young people played strategic roles in democratic breakthroughs andrevolutions in Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine. They provided thenumbers for the civic NGO campaigns in all five cases and encouraged establishedpoliticians to overcome their differences and unite into democratic oppositioncoalitions. Young people represent the non-communist generation which grew up inthe 1980s and 1990s whose political culture is minimally influenced by communistand Soviet political culture. The 1998 (Slovak), 2000 (Croatia, Serbia), 2003(Georgia), 2002 and 2004 (Ukraine) elections were the first occasions when thisyounger generation emerged as a serious actor in these countries domestic politics.Youth had already developed their political skills during the precedingpolitical crises when they learnt from tactical mistakes and honed their organisationalskills. The mass civic mobilisations in the 1998 Slovak and 2000 Croatian andSerbian campaigns were diffused to Georgia and then Ukraine through sharedtraining, publications and internet discussions, often with the assistance of Westernfoundations and think tanks. 13Young people were most adapt at using moderncommunications tools, such as the internet (e-mail, a source of news, discussionforums), and mobile phones (communications, SMS, camera telephones). Besides theinternet as a source of news, cable domestic and international television played animportant role in breaking the state’s monopoly on information and in mobilizingvoters.