With Russian shells raining on Kyiv and tanks closing in, American forces stood ready to evacuate Ukraine’s neophyte leader, a man whose main qualification just three years earlier seemed to be having played a president on TV. But in what became an international rallying cry, Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly retorted ‘I need ammunition, not a ride’. Ukrainian forces then won the battle for Kyiv, ensuring their country’s future independence even as a longer battle for its southeast set in. You cannot understand the historic events of 2022 without understanding Zelensky.
But the Zelensky effect is less about the man himself than about the civic nation in which he was born and that he embodies. In fact, what makes Zelensky most extraordinary in war is his very ordinariness as a Ukrainian, though paradoxically he is ‘ordinary’ in a way few others could be. The Zelensky Effect explains this paradox, exploring Ukraine’s national history to show how he reflects and expresses the hopes and frustrations of its first ‘independence generation.’
Interweaving social science, historical narrative, and compelling episodes from Zelensky’s life and performances, this book presents a story of leadership and national identity in the face of corruption and war.
About the Author
Olga Onuch is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Manchester and Henry E. Hale is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University.
Industry Reviews
'[Ukraine] is now led by men and women like Zelensky in their thirties and forties, whom Olga Onuch and Henry E. Hale describe in The Zelensky Effect as the Independence Generation-those for whom the achievement of Ukrainian independence was a formative political experience.' * Timothy Garton Ash, New York Review of Books *
'[A] deeply researched and well-argued book [that] locate[s] the roots of Zelensky's ability to captivate and mobilize the imagination of his fellow citizens in the rise of Ukrainian civic identity.' -- Serhii Plokhy, The Washington Post
'Refreshingly data-driven and convincing on why [Zelensky's] brand of Ukrainian-ness - emphasising "civic duty, the importance of Ukraine's diversity, and the common quotidian experiences that bound Ukrainians together" - has such appeal.' -- Times Literary Supplement
'A definitive portrait not of a man but of a nation.' -- The Moscow Times
'Onuch and Hale artfully combine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's biography and a chronicle of Ukraine's post communist development, rich with empirical data and rigorous research.' -- Foreign Affairs
'Enlightening.' -- Survival
''The Zelensky Effect' is a truly enlightening book about Ukrainian national identity and resilience. The West is rightly in awe of the country's ability to stand-up to naked aggression and unrestrained violence, but reading Onuch and Hale's book provides a deeper understanding of from where that reserve of strength originates, and the man that has come to embody Ukraine.' -- Diplomatic Courier
'Packed with statistical analysis of polling data, social media posts, articles, and speeches, this book answers many questions about how unified resistance on the ground has repelled the mightier Russian military.' -- Foreword Reviews
'Smoothly written and engaging enough for anyone who wants to better understand the past year in Ukraine.' -- The Russian Review
'Written with... flair and personality.' -- New Eastern Europe
'Thought-provoking ... Offers a superb blueprint of the foundational processes that, along with the actions of individuals like Zelensky, will continue to shape Ukraine in the years ahead.' -- Nationalities Papers
'The go-to book for grasping Ukrainians' morale in the face of Russian aggression, and the determination of their president, who has demonstrated atmospheric levels of heroism and leadership--perhaps unlike any other in the world in recent decades.' -- Marc Berenson, Senior Lecturer at King's Russia Institute, King's College London
'This wonderfully written and engaging book documents the emergence of Ukrainian civic national identity, best exemplified by Zelensky. A must-read for anyone wishing to understand contemporary Ukraine and what Ukrainians believe, value and fight for.' -- Eugene Finkel, Kenneth H. Keller Associate Professor of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University -- Eugene Finkel, Kenneth H. Keller Associate Professor of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University
'Drawing on years of research on Ukrainian politics and society, this timely study paints a fuller picture of Zelensky and the conditions that made him who he is today, and deserves a wide readership at this critical moment in European history.' -- Gwendolyn Sasse, Director of the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)
'An essential book for understanding how a critical mass of Ukrainians converged around a vision of Ukraine grounded in democratic ideals, a European future and sovereign statehood.' -- Oxana Shevel, Associate Professor of Political Science, Tufts University, and an associate of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute and of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University
'Furnishing significant insight into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, this sheds light as well on one of the most important (and improbable) leaders of the twenty-first century.' -- Michael Kimmage, Professor of History, Catholic University of America, and Visiting Fellow, German Marshall Fund
