Sep 23, 2025 02:26 AM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1098833
EXCERPTS: Despite being at war since February 2022, Ukraine has managed to maintain public services. A new study from Linköping University points to the collaboration between citizens and public authorities as a key factor in this. According to the researchers behind it, there are lessons to be learned for other countries should war or crisis come.
“Everyone, right down to the family and the individual, makes crucial decisions in times of deep crisis. It’s important that all actors are mobilised, pull together and cooperate,” says Mariana Gustafsson, docent in political science at the Department of Management and Engineering at Linköping University.
[...] But the researchers emphasise that the collaboration rests on trust within society – a belief that individuals, organisations and public authorities are actually doing what they are supposed to be doing. This belief was not always evident in Ukraine but has slowly grown since the Orange Revolution in the mid-00s. The war has since brought everything to a head, although serious problems with corruption remain. There are lessons to be learned by other countries about the importance of strengthening citizens' confidence in democracy and its institutions.
Trust is created through authorities being flexible and actively working to include civil society, but also through citizens themselves becoming more active, according to Mariana Gustafsson. This is a challenge in all developed democracies, where engagement and participation in civil society have decreased over time. The conditions for a functioning society, even in times of crisis and war, must be created in advance.
“Don’t forget that trust is a commodity. This is something that public authorities, civil society and all of us have to work on continuously. We have seen many warning signs that civil society must become more dynamic and active,” says Mariana Gustafsson.
The researchers point out that the study does have some limitations. Because of the war, it has been difficult to achieve fully representative survey data. Moreover, the survey was only conducted in one of Ukraine’s regions... (MORE - missing details, no ads)
EXCERPTS: Despite being at war since February 2022, Ukraine has managed to maintain public services. A new study from Linköping University points to the collaboration between citizens and public authorities as a key factor in this. According to the researchers behind it, there are lessons to be learned for other countries should war or crisis come.
“Everyone, right down to the family and the individual, makes crucial decisions in times of deep crisis. It’s important that all actors are mobilised, pull together and cooperate,” says Mariana Gustafsson, docent in political science at the Department of Management and Engineering at Linköping University.
[...] But the researchers emphasise that the collaboration rests on trust within society – a belief that individuals, organisations and public authorities are actually doing what they are supposed to be doing. This belief was not always evident in Ukraine but has slowly grown since the Orange Revolution in the mid-00s. The war has since brought everything to a head, although serious problems with corruption remain. There are lessons to be learned by other countries about the importance of strengthening citizens' confidence in democracy and its institutions.
Trust is created through authorities being flexible and actively working to include civil society, but also through citizens themselves becoming more active, according to Mariana Gustafsson. This is a challenge in all developed democracies, where engagement and participation in civil society have decreased over time. The conditions for a functioning society, even in times of crisis and war, must be created in advance.
“Don’t forget that trust is a commodity. This is something that public authorities, civil society and all of us have to work on continuously. We have seen many warning signs that civil society must become more dynamic and active,” says Mariana Gustafsson.
The researchers point out that the study does have some limitations. Because of the war, it has been difficult to achieve fully representative survey data. Moreover, the survey was only conducted in one of Ukraine’s regions... (MORE - missing details, no ads)