Deoligarchization

Of course, some MO's [social movement organizations] begin with a relatively oligarchical structure and de-oligarchization may occur.

This deoligarchization was one of the fundamental conditions precedent for agricultural modernization and for growing mobility and commercialization of land, labour and capital.

The deoligarchization and opening up of Israeli society in the two decades following the Six Day War were facilitated by a sharp rise in the standard of living and education, the ascent of a new class of professionals, technocrats, managers and businessmen, and the strengthening of ties with and orientation toward the West.

Vladimir Gusinsky's media empire was another logical place to start "deoligarchization."

On the other hand, the impact of migration of national big business into the leading administrative positions in the regions appears to be significantly less straightforward. This process took place as a consequence of the ‘deoligarchisation’ campaign conducted by [Vladimir] Putin at the centre and to some extent had a positive effect on the level of transparency of centre-regional dialogue.

Ukraine's reformers have wanted to wean the country off the oligarchs ever since the Maidan revolution, with only limited success. […] The process of "deoligarchisation", says Mr [Volodymyr] Fesenko, will be "complex and painful". But at least it has begun.

These questions shift the perspective from destruction ("fight" against corruption, de-oligarchisation, punishment and control) to construction (institutional design, generation and communication of interests, raising bottom-up social movements and political parties, creating open-access order). They can open new discussions, generate new ideas and disrupt the hopeless discourse of political corruption in Ukraine.

De-oligarchisation depends on the de-politicisation of specific state institutions, the effective fighting against corruption, and the de-monopolisation of the media and key economic sectors. This will determine the success of the modernisation and building-up of democratic institutions in these countries.