Civil society development in Russia and Ukraine: Diverging paths

Abstract

The authors compare civil society development in Russia and Ukraine in recent years in terms of civil society’s structure and relationships with the state and the broader society. They find major differences in 1) the treatment of civil society by state actors and 2) the level of trust placed in civil society by the population. They use these and other findings to assess civil society’s ability to play economic, political and social roles as defined by Michael Edwards in Civil Society (Edwards, 2009) and discover important differences emerging with regard to the political and social roles.

Economic Security In The System Of Social Coordinates

“…The current situation in Russia is characterized by presence of civil society, however, it is not yet strong enough due to its traditional state suppression (Stewart & Dollbaum, 2017). Therefore, its presence does not mean that it plays the same role in the creation, preservation and development of democratic institutions as in countries with developed economies.…”

Entrepreneurial NPOs in Russia: Rationalizing the Mission

“…The increasing pressure for business-like practices from the authorities can be seen as a part of state ''colonization'' of civil society (Hodgson 2004), an attempt to decrease the space for and increase the costs of giving expression to social values, strengthening collective identity, and empowering collective action (Eikenberry and Drapal Kluver 2004;Mercer 2002). Even though the current governance regime offers little space for nonprofits to influence their environment (Stewart and Dollbaum 2017), it is all the more important to reveal that they may find strategies to strengthen autonomy and organizational capacity. In their commercial pursuits, SONPOs mobilize non-material resources such as social capital and trust, voluntarism and philanthropy, raise public consciousness regarding social inequality and exclusion, and help establish claims to state protection where it previously did not exist (cf.…”

Adapting to the unpredictable: The story of a Norwegian-Russian study of NGOs in the Murmansk region during a pandemic

“…More than 150 NGOs were registered as foreign agents, while at least thirty NGOs opted to shut down instead (Human Rights Watch, 2016). At the same time, Russian authorities increasingly funded socially oriented NGOs that provided services seen as valuable by the state (Ivashinenko and Varyzgina, 2017; Stewart et al., 2017).…”