PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND ACTIVISM IN THE CONTEXT OF WAR:  COMMUNITY ADAPTATION TO SOCIAL CHANGES

Olga Kuzmuk

doi:10.23856/7123

Olga Kuzmuk Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9729-1785

Keywords: public participation, civic activism, social changes, war, civic initiatives, collective identities

Abstract

The article investigates the phenomenon of public participation and activism as a key mechanism for the adaptation of Ukrainian society to social changes caused by the full-scale war. It analyzes the transformation of forms of civic mobilization in extreme conditions, particularly the shift from traditional practices to new models of interaction. The main manifestations of public activity are discussed, such as the volunteer movement, the creation of humanitarian initiatives, support for internally displaced persons, and assistance to the armed forces, which have become tools for addressing crisis challenges and strengthening social cohesion.Particular attention is given to the role of digital technologies and social networks as effective platforms for rapid organization, coordination of actions, and dissemination of information. The research explores how the war impacts the structure of communities, their value orientations, and the level of social capital. The author argues that active public participation not only helps to overcome urgent challenges related to the conflict but also lays the groundwork for post-war reconstruction, contributing to the development of a resilient and democratic civil society. It highlights how new social ties and practices of solidarity that emerged in conditions of instability establish the foundations for long-term social development.

References

1. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). New York: Greenwood Press.
2. Chan, J., To, H. P., & Chan, E. (2006). Reconsidering social cohesion: Developing a definition and analytical framework for empirical research. Social Indicators Research, 75(2), 273-302.
3. Coleman, J. S. (1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap of Harvard University Press.
4. Fonseca, X., Lukosch, S., & Brazier, F. (2019). Social cohesion revisited: A new definition and how to characterize it. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 32(2), 231-253.
5. Fukuyama, F. (1995). Trust: The social virtues and the creation of prosperity. London: Hamish Hamilton.
6. Gellner, E. (1994). Conditions of liberty: Civil society and its rivals. London: Penguin Books.
7. Putnam, R. D. (1993). The prosperous community: Social capital and public life. The American Prospect, 13, 35-42.
8. Bukrieieva, I. (2019). Rol hromadianskoi aktyvnosti u formuvanni sotsialnoho kapitalu mista [The role of civic activity in the formation of the city's social capital]. Ukrainoznavchyi almanakh, 25, 24-28. [in Ukrainian]. https://doi.org/10.17721/2520-2626/2019.25.4
9. Dembitskyi, S. S. (2019). Ustanovky na hromadsku aktyvnist v Ukraini: analiz pokaznykiv osnovnykh sotsialno-demohrafichnykh hrup (2016 ta 2018 roky) [Attitudes to civic activity in Ukraine: analysis of indicators of the main socio-demographic groups (2016 and 2018)]. Visnyk NTUU «KPI». Politolohiia. Sotsiolohiia. Pravo, 1(41), 32-41. [in Ukrainian].
10. Patnam, R. D., Leonardi, R., & Nanetti, R. Y. (2001). Tvorennia demokratii: tradytsii hromadianskoi aktyvnosti v suchasnii Italii [Making democracy work: civic traditions in modern Italy]. Kyiv: Osnovy. [in Ukrainian].
11. Rozenblium, N. L. (2001). Hromadski suspilstva: liberalizm i moralni vplyvy pliuralizmu [Civil societies: liberalism and the moral effects of pluralism]. «Ï», 3, 6-29. [in Ukrainian].
12. Stepanenko, V. P. (2015). Hromadianske suspilstvo: dyskursy i praktyky [Civil society: discourses and practices]. Kyiv: In-t sotsiolohii NAN Ukrainy. [in Ukrainian].
13. Tit, O. H. (2019). Hromadianskyi aktyvizm yak chynnyk rozbudovy hromadianskoho suspilstva v suchasnii Ukraini [Civic activism as a factor in the development of civil society in modern Ukraine]. Hileia: naukovyi visnyk, 145(3), 100-103. [in Ukrainian].