Course co-directors: Diána Vonnák (University of Stirling) and Taras Fedirko (University of Glasgow)
The course offers a historically informed and critical examination of the notion of civil society and its relevance to understanding civic associations and activism in Ukraine, their relationship with the state and capital, and their potential for fostering equitable and socially informed policy-making.
The course is organized in three parts. The first part provides conceptual tools for thinking about state-society relations and collective power. The second part uses these tools to examine the history and political economy of civil society in Ukraine from perestroika to the full-scale invasion. The third part puts the perspectives of NGO workers, activists, and state officials from Ukraine in conversations with critical case studies on the international donor economy, activist campaigning, and state bureaucracies from across the world.
The course also offers 12 mentoring sessions in small groups. These sessions will combine discussions of core texts with practical learning focused on acquiring critical skills for understanding the ways of knowing and working in Ukraine’s civil society.