Abstract
While the role of volunteers in sustaining the Ukrainian armed forces against the backdrop of Russian aggression since 2014 has been widely acknowledged in literature, the effect of volunteer initiatives on the state defense capacity in longer term has not been studied thus far. This article aims to address this gap and explore whether volunteer participation led to institutional strengthening of the Ukrainian defense state capacity or to its weakening. The analysis will conclude that the volunteers in fact contributed to both – strengthening the state and weakening it at the same time; the outcome dependent on the context in which the volunteers took action at different times. While volunteer participation failed to bring about systemic reform, it did provide powerful democratic oversight over the state’s key defense institution.
Highlights
It has been acknowledged that “the large-scale mobilization of Ukrainian society is ... arguably Euromaidan’s and its tragic aftermath’s most far-reaching legacy.” 1 the role of volunteers in sustaining the Ukrainian armed forces against the backdrop of Russian aggression cannot be overestimated
This article analyzed the effects of the volunteer participation on defense sector reform in Ukraine
The analysis of the empirical data suggests that volunteer organizations contributed to both strengthening the defense state capacities and weakening them primarily by substitution for the state, which is typical for fragile states
Summary
It has been acknowledged that “the large-scale mobilization of Ukrainian society is ... arguably Euromaidan’s and its tragic aftermath’s most far-reaching legacy.” 1 the role of volunteers in sustaining the Ukrainian armed forces against the backdrop of Russian aggression cannot be overestimated. In 2014 the Armed Forces of Ukraine lacked troops, capacity and resources both quality- and quantity-wise — according to the Minister of Defense Ihor Teniukh, the number of deployable troops during the Crimea annexation only reached 1,500–2,000,2 and only 4% of Ukrainian troops were provided with necessary equipment, including life-saving helmets and bullet-proof jackets.. While there are no precise calculations about the number of citizens engaged in volunteer activities (not least due to the fluid nature of participation), some sociological studies offer insight: in 2014 a survey by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation revealed that 32.5% of Ukrainians donated money to support Ukraine’s armed forces in May-September 2014, while 3% (over 1 million people) personally collected money, food and equipment and supplied them to the frontline.
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