Insights for Strengthening Citizen Participation from wartime Ukraine
This policy brief presents the most effective ways to promote citizen participation in local issues during wartime. War presents a unique environment characterized by significant physical danger, mental and physical fatigue for both citizens and officials, and geopolitical instability.
As a result, the brief also explores how citizens perceive wartime conditions and how these perceptions influence participatory behaviors. Ukraine serves as a case study of active local democracy within an environment that supports participation but faces multiple crises due to a full-scale Russian invasion. These insights are valuable for other societies that, while not experiencing an existential war threat, still face uncertainty and fluctuating citizen engagement.