Authors

Sophie Schmäing¹;  ¹ University of Giessen, Germany

Discussion

The post-Euromaidan years saw a significant rise in avenues for citizen participation in Ukraine. Amongst these, the participatory budget, a practice, which enables citizens to vote on and co-implement projects financed by the local budget proved to be particularly popular. How does the cooperation between citizens and local authorities play out against the background of widespread corruption and low trust in political institutions? Does the participatory process shift (power) relations between city dwellers and the local state?

This paper explores the roles citizens obtain in participatory budgeting institutions in Dnipro, Kyiv and Lviv. Beyond examining the general correspondence of the participatory process with democratic principles, I draw on literature which suggest that citizens' can be granted different degrees of empowerment ranging from passive consumers of public goods to active political subjects. Relying on a variety of data including semi-structured interviews, observation of budgetary meetings, and online ethnography, I reveal how participants’ positions are shaped by the framing and institutional framework of the participatory budget as well as citizens’ self-understandings and active (re)negotiation of their role. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of patterns of grassroots civic engagement, cooperation between local authorities and citizens and democracy in Ukraine.