Sarah Whitmore
Biographic Data
| ID | 4376918 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sarah Whitmore |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sarah |
| FAMILY NAME | Whitmore |
| SIGNATURE | WHITMORE S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Oxford Brookes University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6845-3602 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 52 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
‘Repairing an aircraft mid-flight’: Establishing democratic civilian control in Ukraine during war
This study evaluates progress made in establishing Democratic Civilian Control (DCC) in Ukraine under President Zelensky using key criteria drawn from the comparative literature: a civilian-led Ministry of Defence; clear lines of accountability; legislative oversight and a supportive civil society. War had a catalysing effect on military reforms, but this did not extend to DCC where the high external threat generated fears about Russian agents in…
Culture Wars in the Post-Soviet Space
This article explores the phenomenon of culture wars in the post-Soviet space. It provides an introduction to this special issue by addressing a series of themes which deepen and more importantly complicate our understanding of culture wars in the post-Soviet space, but also more generally. The paper analyses: the multifaceted nature of culture wars, illustrating the way in which these normative-based conflicts are more complicated than the typic…
Performing protest and representation? Exploring citizens’ perceptions of parliament in Ukraine
This research departs from conventional studies of citizen’s attitudes to parliament by utilising focus groups to interrogate the incredibly low levels of trust in Ukraine’s parliament during the Yanukovych and Poroshenko presidencies and explores how far they are related to the exceptionally high levels of disruptive protest in the chamber. Low trust is shaped primarily by citizens’ concerns about corruption, particularly the role of FIGs and of…
Disrupted Democracy in Ukraine? Protest, Performance and Contention in the Verkhovna Rada
Protest performances inside parliament during 2012–2016 articulated claims to uphold democracy that contributed to the maintenance of pluralism in Ukraine during attempted authoritarian consolidation. Simultaneously, such protests were para-institutional instruments in the ongoing power struggle engendered by a patronal system where formal institutions and norms weakly constrained actors. A diverse repertoire of protest, including rostrum-blockin…
Ukraine between the EU and Russia: The Integration Challenge
Ukraine’s ‘revolution of dignity’ of late 2013 to early 2014 and its aftermath, which saw Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of war in the Donbas, has prompted an enormous volume of sch
The limited agency and life-cycles of personalized dominant parties in the post-Soviet space: The cases of United Russia and Nur Otan
Vladimir Putin's United Russia and Nursultan Nazabayev's Nur Otan represent a distinctive type of dominant party due to their personalist nature and dependence on their presidential patrons. Such personalism deprives these parties of the agency to perform key roles in authoritarian reproduction typically expected of dominant parties, such as resource distribution, policy-making and mobilizing mass support for the regime. Instead United Russia and…
Parliamentary Oversight in Putin's Neo-patrimonial State. Watchdogs or Show-dogs
Conceptualising Russia as a neopatrimonial state directs attention to the patrimonial relations that pervaded formal institutions to reveal increasing tensions within the state during Putin's presidency. A case study of parliamentary oversight practices points to the emergence of legitimation as their key purpose, but also to the growing contradictions between the controlling and legitimating impulses of Putin's regime. At the same time deputies …
Challenges and constraints for post-Soviet committees: Exploring the impact of parties on committees in Ukraine
This study focuses on the impact of parliamentary parties on committees' structure and activity in the post-Soviet context. Through a case study of committees in Ukraine's Rada, the paper demonstrates that weak, fluid parties can act as a barrier to committees' efficacy by shaping their structure, leadership and by blocking ameliorating reforms. Although Ukraine's committees were formally allocated a significant role in the law-making process, in…
State and Institution Building Under Kuchma
By using state institutions to preserve his personal power, Kuchma harmed Ukraine’s extractive and decision-making capacities
State Building in Ukraine: The Ukrainian Parliament, 1990-2003
Ukraine's Parliament in theoretical perspective -- Between parties and the president : the Verkhovna Rada, 1990-2003 -- Factions emergent, 1990-4 -- Factions ascendant, 1994-8 -- Factions dominant, 1998-2002? -- Committee institutionalization, 1990-2002 -- The 'last bastion' of democracy in Ukraine? -- Conclusion -- Appendix: list of standing committees in the Verkhovna Rada, 1990-2002
Faction institutionalization and parliamentary development in Ukraine
The institutionalization of factions in Ukraine’s parliament has proceeded in a patchy, uneven manner as a consequence of cross-cutting incentives created by the Constitution, lower order rules and the actions of the president. Although factions became more organizationally complex and disciplined, membership instability significantly undermined these developments so that factions remained weakly institutionalized. Despite this, factions came to …
The limited agency and life-cycles of personalized dominant parties in the post-Soviet space: The cases of United Russia and Nur Otan
Vladimir Putin's United Russia and Nursultan Nazabayev's Nur Otan represent a distinctive type of dominant party due to their personalist nature and dependence on their presidential patrons. Such personalism deprives these parties of the agency to perform key roles in authoritarian reproduction typically expected of dominant parties, such as resource distribution, policy-making and mobilizing mass support for the regime. Instead United Russia and…
Faction institutionalization and parliamentary development in Ukraine
The institutionalization of factions in Ukraine’s parliament has proceeded in a patchy, uneven manner as a consequence of cross-cutting incentives created by the Constitution, lower order rules and the actions of the president. Although factions became more organizationally complex and disciplined, membership instability significantly undermined these developments so that factions remained weakly institutionalized. Despite this, factions came to …
Challenges and constraints for post-Soviet committees: Exploring the impact of parties on committees in Ukraine
This study focuses on the impact of parliamentary parties on committees' structure and activity in the post-Soviet context. Through a case study of committees in Ukraine's Rada, the paper demonstrates that weak, fluid parties can act as a barrier to committees' efficacy by shaping their structure, leadership and by blocking ameliorating reforms. Although Ukraine's committees were formally allocated a significant role in the law-making process, in…
Parliamentary Oversight in Putin's Neo-patrimonial State. Watchdogs or Show-dogs
Conceptualising Russia as a neopatrimonial state directs attention to the patrimonial relations that pervaded formal institutions to reveal increasing tensions within the state during Putin's presidency. A case study of parliamentary oversight practices points to the emergence of legitimation as their key purpose, but also to the growing contradictions between the controlling and legitimating impulses of Putin's regime. At the same time deputies …
State and Institution Building Under Kuchma
By using state institutions to preserve his personal power, Kuchma harmed Ukraine’s extractive and decision-making capacities
Performing protest and representation? Exploring citizens’ perceptions of parliament in Ukraine
This research departs from conventional studies of citizen’s attitudes to parliament by utilising focus groups to interrogate the incredibly low levels of trust in Ukraine’s parliament during the Yanukovych and Poroshenko presidencies and explores how far they are related to the exceptionally high levels of disruptive protest in the chamber. Low trust is shaped primarily by citizens’ concerns about corruption, particularly the role of FIGs and of…
Disrupted Democracy in Ukraine? Protest, Performance and Contention in the Verkhovna Rada
Protest performances inside parliament during 2012–2016 articulated claims to uphold democracy that contributed to the maintenance of pluralism in Ukraine during attempted authoritarian consolidation. Simultaneously, such protests were para-institutional instruments in the ongoing power struggle engendered by a patronal system where formal institutions and norms weakly constrained actors. A diverse repertoire of protest, including rostrum-blockin…
Culture Wars in the Post-Soviet Space
This article explores the phenomenon of culture wars in the post-Soviet space. It provides an introduction to this special issue by addressing a series of themes which deepen and more importantly complicate our understanding of culture wars in the post-Soviet space, but also more generally. The paper analyses: the multifaceted nature of culture wars, illustrating the way in which these normative-based conflicts are more complicated than the typic…
Faction institutionalization and parliamentary development in Ukraine
The institutionalization of factions in Ukraine’s parliament has proceeded in a patchy, uneven manner as a consequence of cross-cutting incentives created by the Constitution, lower order rules and the actions of the president. Although factions became more organizationally complex and disciplined, membership instability significantly undermined these developments so that factions remained weakly institutionalized. Despite this, factions came to …
State Building in Ukraine: The Ukrainian Parliament, 1990-2003
Ukraine's Parliament in theoretical perspective -- Between parties and the president : the Verkhovna Rada, 1990-2003 -- Factions emergent, 1990-4 -- Factions ascendant, 1994-8 -- Factions dominant, 1998-2002? -- Committee institutionalization, 1990-2002 -- The 'last bastion' of democracy in Ukraine? -- Conclusion -- Appendix: list of standing committees in the Verkhovna Rada, 1990-2002
State and Institution Building Under Kuchma
By using state institutions to preserve his personal power, Kuchma harmed Ukraine’s extractive and decision-making capacities
Challenges and constraints for post-Soviet committees: Exploring the impact of parties on committees in Ukraine
This study focuses on the impact of parliamentary parties on committees' structure and activity in the post-Soviet context. Through a case study of committees in Ukraine's Rada, the paper demonstrates that weak, fluid parties can act as a barrier to committees' efficacy by shaping their structure, leadership and by blocking ameliorating reforms. Although Ukraine's committees were formally allocated a significant role in the law-making process, in…
Parliamentary Oversight in Putin's Neo-patrimonial State. Watchdogs or Show-dogs
Conceptualising Russia as a neopatrimonial state directs attention to the patrimonial relations that pervaded formal institutions to reveal increasing tensions within the state during Putin's presidency. A case study of parliamentary oversight practices points to the emergence of legitimation as their key purpose, but also to the growing contradictions between the controlling and legitimating impulses of Putin's regime. At the same time deputies …
The limited agency and life-cycles of personalized dominant parties in the post-Soviet space: The cases of United Russia and Nur Otan
Vladimir Putin's United Russia and Nursultan Nazabayev's Nur Otan represent a distinctive type of dominant party due to their personalist nature and dependence on their presidential patrons. Such personalism deprives these parties of the agency to perform key roles in authoritarian reproduction typically expected of dominant parties, such as resource distribution, policy-making and mobilizing mass support for the regime. Instead United Russia and…
Ukraine between the EU and Russia: The Integration Challenge
Ukraine’s ‘revolution of dignity’ of late 2013 to early 2014 and its aftermath, which saw Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of war in the Donbas, has prompted an enormous volume of sch
Disrupted Democracy in Ukraine? Protest, Performance and Contention in the Verkhovna Rada
Protest performances inside parliament during 2012–2016 articulated claims to uphold democracy that contributed to the maintenance of pluralism in Ukraine during attempted authoritarian consolidation. Simultaneously, such protests were para-institutional instruments in the ongoing power struggle engendered by a patronal system where formal institutions and norms weakly constrained actors. A diverse repertoire of protest, including rostrum-blockin…
Performing protest and representation? Exploring citizens’ perceptions of parliament in Ukraine
This research departs from conventional studies of citizen’s attitudes to parliament by utilising focus groups to interrogate the incredibly low levels of trust in Ukraine’s parliament during the Yanukovych and Poroshenko presidencies and explores how far they are related to the exceptionally high levels of disruptive protest in the chamber. Low trust is shaped primarily by citizens’ concerns about corruption, particularly the role of FIGs and of…
Culture Wars in the Post-Soviet Space
This article explores the phenomenon of culture wars in the post-Soviet space. It provides an introduction to this special issue by addressing a series of themes which deepen and more importantly complicate our understanding of culture wars in the post-Soviet space, but also more generally. The paper analyses: the multifaceted nature of culture wars, illustrating the way in which these normative-based conflicts are more complicated than the typic…
‘Repairing an aircraft mid-flight’: Establishing democratic civilian control in Ukraine during war
This study evaluates progress made in establishing Democratic Civilian Control (DCC) in Ukraine under President Zelensky using key criteria drawn from the comparative literature: a civilian-led Ministry of Defence; clear lines of accountability; legislative oversight and a supportive civil society. War had a catalysing effect on military reforms, but this did not extend to DCC where the high external threat generated fears about Russian agents in…
Political science (10 works) · Law (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Politics (7 works) · Political economy (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Democracy (5 works) · Public Administration (5 works) · Parliament (4 works) · Post-Soviet Geopolitical Dynamics (4 works)