ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the role of civic activism in Ukraine at the local level. It is based on field research on a small civic group called Strong communities which was founded in 2014 in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and the conflict in the Eastern part of the country. The goal of this group is to help people exercise control and influence on the local government by organizing training for activists, publishing analytical materials, conducting information campaigns and direct actions. This kind of advocacy is rather new in the Eastern region of Ukraine where politics is mostly based on vertical and patrimonial relationships between elites and citizens. In order to transform these relationships, civic activists use a wide range of tools from traditional, or institutionalized, mechanisms of fostering political participation (on-line petition, participatory budget) to informal methods such as consulting, expertise, meetings, or instruments coming from social movements (protest, performances, empowerment). The chapter argues that by experimenting all means of action to democratize governance and foster civic participation, civic activism is both a watchdog and a performer of representative local governance in Ukraine.
