Paper short abstract:

In my paper I would like to show the phenomena of activism in Ukrainian government-controlled territory of Donbas region and actions of young activists which future-oriented forms of activism aim to create the change in a challenging environment of single-industry towns.

Paper long abstract:

I would like to show the phenomena of activism and civic engagement in monofunctional towns situated in Ukrainian government-controlled territory of Donbas region. A mixture of post-conflict reality and old stereotypes about the region clashes with recent intensive implementation of civil society-strengthening projects that started to flourish after recapturing frontline towns from separatists by Ukrainian forces in 2014.

I intend to specifically highlight actions of young, formal and semi-formal groups which future-oriented forms of activism aim to create the change in a challenging environment of monotowns, where they weave between two main actors: the state and town-forming enterprises. The influent external models of activism create new modes of engagement functioning on intersection of foregoing and alluvial models of 'being a citizen', new patterns of adjustment to political and social reality and re-gaining agency. In my consideration I turn to the meanings of counter-spaces understand as 'spaces occupied by the symbolic and the imaginary' (Lefebvre 1991). In this approach activism must not be grand nor be in total opposition to political power - its power lies not in the ability to turn things upside down in an instance, but in that they 'open up cracks in the totalizing logic of the capitalist city' (Tonkiss 2005, p. 64). This is especially a case of vulnerable places like post-conflict Donbas monotowns where Jeffrey C. Goldfarb's (2006, 2008) theory of politics of small things and James C. Scott's (1990) theory of infrapolitics seem to be more appropriate in describing this 'creeping change'.