DANYLIW RESEARCH SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY UKRAINE

Decentralization and Ukrainian Resistance
Against Russia's Invasion

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many international observers predicted that Ukraine would fall within days. Ukraine defied those expectations and mounted formidable resistance, prompting social scientists and policymakers to draw connections between this resilience and the decentralization reforms launched in 2015 following the Maidan protests. The paper assesses the relationship between decentralization and resistance using nationally representative surveys conducted on the eve of the invasion.

Isabelle DeSisto is a PhD student at Princeton University.