This paper looks at the Vinnytsia micro-region and aims to assess the degree of social subordination to national/local institutions, roots of institutional legitimacy, and willingness to self-mobilise in the face of political challenges and/or external threats, in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
The research questions are as follows:
1) What are the major factors influencing the people’s support of leaders and institutions in their communities, in peaceful and war times?
2)Why did the community of Vinnytsia decide to self-mobilise, confront Russian aggression, and defend its Euro-Atlantic choice?
The social attitudes to the effectiveness of micro-regional governance, institutions, and security are measured through qualitative interviews (repertory grid technique) and document analysis.
The paper compares the official visions of governance/institutions/security in Vinnytsia (discovered through the document analysis) to the public expectations of the latter (discovered through interviewing). This comparison:
1) unveils the correlation between the public (demand) and official (supply) objectives;
2) points to the gaps in official governance and/or security provision that are covered through civil society action;
3) introduces the key indicators of the legitimacy of institutions, both formal and informal;
4) clarifies factors that lead to the social self-mobilisation when facing political challenges and/or external threats.
