The election of Yushchenko in Ukraine back in 2004 is a good example of a Western funded "color revolution", the same of which I mentioned a few days ago in my review of the Iranian elections. Yushchenko originally lost the 2004 elections before a judge declared the first two rounds of elections null and void. Yushchenko won the third round with a narrow plurality and the rest is history. Now that's a banana republic, politically charged judges can overturn the results of an election based on sketchy evidence at best until they get the result they want!!! The West got the candidate they wanted over the one which Russia backed, and the rest is history.
This likely won't happen in Iran because they have a more closed political system that's less vulnerable to outside influence. The goal with the "green revolution" is to modulate Iran's behavior, or to at least to sow the seeds of political change in that country.
Yushchenko has had a very unstable government; he's had to dismiss his cabinet at least 3 times, he's deeply unpopular in the country, with one May 2009 poll claiming that he has a 9% approval rating nationwide. His program has included imposing upon the country tough IMF rules forcing economic austerity on the people and supporting failed banks through bailouts. He also supports entry into the European Union. In short, he's a bulwark against Russian influence in Eastern Europe, so the West hopes that he will hold on to power despite his unpopular stands and political problems.
What's interesting about color revolutions throughout the world is that they all follow the same line. They're funded by the same foundations like the National Endowment for Democracy (and related NPO's), they rely on college students and young urban professionals for political support, they use social networking technologies like text messages, Twitter and Facebook to get their message out, and they do meetups and rallies to gain solidarity for their cause. They all rally around a banner for "reform" or "change", and the front candidates are all more open to Western influence. Indeed, even the Obama campaign last year followed a similar structure (fueled by young people, reliant on technology to get it's message out, followed a mantra of change, etc...)
This is interesting stuff.
