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Ukrainian pro-democracy activism since Euromaidan has been called a "civic awakening," and civic coalitions have been credited with new strength and influence over the process of democratic reform. However, neither history nor theory predicts success for these groups: civil society was largely marginalized after the Colour Revolutions, and Ukraine remains a "competitive authoritarian" polity in which incumbents are strongly motivated to block democratic reforms. If this new civil society influence is real, it presents a puzzle: what accounts for this unexpected result? This thesis offers case studies of two important democratic reforms enacted in 2015: political party financing and civil service reform. Using a process tracing analysis of available evidence, this thesis seeks to clarify the extent and character of civil society's new influence in post-Euromaidan Ukraine, and to identify the conditions and strategies that may be allowing activists to overcome the marginalization or co-optation that followed the Colour Revolutions.
This book is among the first comprehensive efforts to collectively and academically investigate the legacy of the Euromaidan in conflict-torn Ukraine within the domain of civil society broadly understood. The contributions to this book identify, describe, conceptualize, and explain various developments in Ukrainian civil society and its role in Ukraine's democratization, state-building, and conflict resolution by looking at specific understudied sectors and by tracing the situation before, during, and after the Euromaidan. In doing so, this trailblazing collection highlights a number of new themes, challenges, and opportunities related to Ukrainian civil society. They include volunteerism, grassroots community-based activism, social activism of churches, civic efforts of building peace and reconciliation, civic activism of journalists and digital activism, activism of think tanks, diaspora networks and the LGBT movement, challenges of civil society relations with the state, uncivil society, and the closing of civic space.
Ukraine has been shaken by both sociopolitical disorders and a deep humanitarian emergency. Sophie Falsini explores the way and the extent to which events since late 2013 - the Euromaidan revolution, the annexation of Crimea, and the war in the East - have transformed civil society, looking at organizations active in providing help to internally displaced people to show how Ukraine's 'civil society 2.0' saw the rise of grassroots and voluntary movements that triggered social mobilization.
The Orange Revolution in November/December 2004 has unambiguously determined the future orientation of Ukraine. Joining the European Union is its top priority. In this volume, Europe is not treated as a geographical or historical term, but as a normative concept which includes respect for human and civil rights, rule of law, division of powers, parliamentary democracy, open and pluralistic society. This publication has two aims: a critical analysis and evaluation of the efforts of Ukraine under President Yushchenko to bring about a change in direction toward a rapprochement to the European Union (2005-2008), and the identification of cultural constants of the Ukrainian society which either hinder or are conducive to the rapprochement.
Western donors have dominated third sector developments in contemporary Eastern Europe in efforts to replicate their own institutional models as a way of reconstructing the region's post-totalitarian civil society. These efforts resulted in limited success, frustrating the donor community and puzzling scholars. Civil society in the region has long been labeled as weak based on a general lack of citizen participation in formal organizations. This dissertation argues that such assessment of civil society fails to recognize the role of below-the-radar civic engagement in contexts where informal practices permeate economic, political and social spheres. Based on 70 in-depth interviews with civil society actors from 14 locations across Ukraine, supplemented by social media data, this dissertation addresses fundamental questions about the nature, drivers and impact of the country's informal civil society. The study demonstrates that informality constitutes an essential component of civil society and shapes how Ukrainians address social and political issues. The study documents a range of informal activities in Ukraine's civil society and questions the distinction between formal and informal sectors. Importantly, the study finds that citizen engagement flourishes in the absence of official registration and financial reporting, and informality allows individuals to engage in a range of service and advocacy-focused activities. The study examines the motives for informal engagement by relying on normative and rationalist explanations of citizens' actions. Central to these activities are the fundamental trust built within familial and local networks, as well as the distrust of formal institutions expressing either neglectful or repressive behaviors. Informality fosters citizens' relative autonomy from the incongruous and antagonistic formal institutions, and serves as a tool for attaining and expanding civic agency. Furthermore, informal associational activity not only preserves spaces free of external intrusion, but also counteracts the negative side-effects of donor-driven institution-building processes that tend to detract citizens from genuine civic engagement. The study's findings call for expanded and alternative approaches to assessing and supporting civil society in the region. Future research should consider shifting the unit of analysis from organizational membership to more specific inputs and outputs, as well as to the nature and efficacy of interactions between members of the polity.
"This volume explores the role of former president Kuchma and the oligarchs, societal attitudes, the role of the political opposition and civil society, the importance of the media, and the roles of Russia and the West"--Provided by publisher.
In early 2014, sparked by an assault by their government on peaceful students, Ukrainians rose up against a deeply corrupt, Moscow-backed regime. Initially demonstrating under the banner of EU integration, the Maidan protesters proclaimed their right to a dignified existence; they learned to organize, to act collectively, to become a civil society. Most prominently, they established a new Ukrainian identity: territorial, inclusive, and present-focused with powerful mobilizing symbols. Driven by an urban “bourgeoisie” that rejected the hierarchies of industrial society in favor of a post-modern heterarchy, a previously passive post-Soviet country experienced a profound social revolution that generated new senses: “Dignity” and “fairness” became rallying cries for millions. Europe as the symbolic target of political aspiration gradually faded, but the impact (including on Europe) of Ukraine’s revolution remained. When Russia invaded—illegally annexing Crimea and then feeding continuous military conflict in the Donbas—, Ukrainians responded with a massive volunteer effort and touching patriotism. In the process, they transformed their country, the region, and indeed the world. This book provides a chronicle of Ukraine’s Maidan and Russia’s ongoing war, and puts forth an analysis of the Revolution of Dignity from the perspective of a participant observer.
Russia employs a sophisticated social media campaign against former Soviet states that includes news tweets, nonattributed comments on web pages, troll and bot social media accounts, and fake hashtag and Twitter campaigns. Nowhere is this threat more tangible than in Ukraine. Researchers analyzed social media data and conducted interviews with regional and security experts to understand the critical ingredients to countering this campaign.
An attempt to assess the validity of current concerns regarding this country's stability and to analyze the factors that have influenced and will continue to influence the domestic political and socioeconomic situation in Ukraine. Contents: the issue of stability; the economy; social stability; ethnic tensions; centrifugal trends; civil society and political stability; Russian-Ukrainian relations; the role of the military; some conclusions; and developments for regional security. Extensive references. Map.
The essays provide a wealth of new data based on surveys, interviews, documentary analysis, and ethnography.