Ukraine Analytica

DEMOCRACY AT WAR: WHAT UKRAINIANS THINK

While Ukrainian citizens’ resistance has surprised the world, it has not been seen as a miracle by Ukrainians themselves, who since 2014 have been involved in volunteer movements and knew well what aggression means. Despite the inevitable concentration of power during the war-time martial law, there is a widespread belief among Ukrainian experts that there would be no monopolisation of power. Analysis of the changes that occurred within Ukrainian society between 2014 and 2022 testifies that Ukrainians are fighting not only for national freedom, but that they reject Russian authoritarianism, and nationalistic revisionism

What helped Ukrainians to resist so successfully? Different factors can be named, but among them, we would emphasise the democratic regime, developed civil society, so called horizontal ties and a sense of solidarity.



Oleksiy Haran, PhD, is a Professor of Comparative Politics at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy and a Research Director at the Democratic Initiatives Foundation (since 2015), a leading Ukrainian analytical and sociological think tank. In 1991 93, he was a Dean at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the re-born Kyiv Mohyla Academy. Since 2002, he has served as Founding Director of the UKMA School for Policy Analysis. He is the co-editor of “Constructing a Political Nation: Changes in the Attitudes of Ukrainians during the War in the Donbas” (2017), “Ukraine in Europe: Questions and Answers” (2009), “Russia and Ukraine: Ten Years of Transformation” (2003) and several other books. His recent book is “From Brezhnev to Zelenskyy: Dilemmas of Ukrainian Political Scientist” (2021). Also, he is a frequent commentator on Ukrainian and international media. In 2014-2015, as a political scientist, Prof. Haran spent several weeks at the frontline near Mariupol, Luhansk, Avdiivka, and Donetsk Airport. He was a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and a member of the Washington-based Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS-Eurasia).


  1. Images are for demo purposes only and are properties of their respective owners. Published by NGO “Promotion of Intercultural Cooperation” (Ukraine), Centre of International Studies (Ukraine),  with the financial support of the Representation of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Ukraine, International Renaissance Foundation and RAND Corporation, and the U.S. Department of State

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