War cannot be a reason for the collapse of democracy

The full-scale war fundamentally changed the life of Ukrainian society and the system of governance. Security has become an absolute priority, and the concentration of powers and increased role of military administrations has become the new norm. At the same time, there is a limit beyond which the logic of stability and quick decisions becomes closed, and martial law begins to serve as a convenient explanation for curtailing democratic procedures and excluding people from participation.

In different parts of the country, the temptation of manual control is becoming more and more noticeable. Under the guise of security considerations, decisions are made that have no relation to defense, but have a significant impact on the quality of democracy. International partners emphasize that support for Ukraine depends not only on successes at the front, but also on compliance with democratic standards.

At the local level, the situation looks even more alarming in some places. In front-line and de-occupied communities, official websites are not updated for months, decisions are not published, and important documents are adopted without the participation of those who are affected by them. The war has become an argument that deprives many communities of a voice and the opportunity to influence their own future.

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“I would like to see more democracy. Both now and after the war. Because there is not enough of it… Selectivity in everything. Some are listened to, some are not. Some people allow rallies, others are forbidden… If they asked me, I would have given the money to the fortifications, not to the “starry sky”. — says a representative of a public organization from Kharkiv Oblast. — But no one asked“.

Fighting, forced displacement of people and the introduction of military administrations have resulted in the freezing of many participation mechanisms. However, the relationship between the authorities and the residents remains, albeit in modified forms adapted to the conditions of the war.

Participation is possible even during war A recently conducted study “Civil Participation in Public Governance in Temporarily Occupied, De-Occupied, and Frontline Territories” proves that citizen participation is not only possible, but also critically necessary. At a time when the space for democracy is narrowing, it is the interaction between the authorities and the public that helps communities to hold on, recover and preserve their subjectivity. It’s not about luxury or an optional extra. It is about the basis of sustainability, without which it is difficult to imagine recovery and development.

There are real examples of successful cooperation in different regions. In the Zaporizhzhia region, the environmental council under the regional military administration is actively working. It unites scientists and representatives of the public and actually forms a platform for expert influence.

In Beryslav, Kherson Oblast, consultations with the public have become regular and even more active than before 2022. Residents participated through online forms and paper questionnaires. Thanks to this, it was possible to collect proposals for a recovery plan and a comprehensive development program.

In the Seversko-Donetsk community, for the first time during the occupation, people were able to familiarize themselves with the draft budget and submit proposals. This is an important symbolic step that effectively gives back the right to vote to the community living in exile.

In the Soledar community, activists initiated a change in the regulations on the title of honorary citizen. The discussion took place in public, more than a hundred people took part, after which the possibility of awarding titles posthumously was introduced. This is how the community honored its fallen defenders.

In the de-occupied territories of the Kherson region, joint working groups on security and recovery issues have been created. The authorities, police, emergency services, activists and volunteers take part in them. Together, they determine priorities and monitor the implementation of decisions. This is an example of real co-management in a region that survived the occupation.

Such stories are still isolated, but they testify to the willingness of people to get involved and influence. They prove that participation is possible even in the face of constant threats and high centralization.

The time of deliberative democracy Most of the classic tools of democracy in these territories hardly work. In fact, citizens’ appeals and various advisory formats remain available. Social networks have become platforms where the government and society exchange information and proposals. Humanitarian hubs have turned into community presence points where people can directly contact government officials.

In such a situation, deliberative democracy becomes the most effective model, which involves the active role of the government in creating dialogue platforms and involving people in the formation of decisions. It is not limited to formal consultations. Its essence lies in real dialogue and integration of people’s opinion into the content of future policies. During the war, this is actually the only model that allows communities to maintain their subjectivity, and the authorities to make well-founded and legitimate decisions.

The legislation is silent where it should give answers The main problem is that the Law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” says almost nothing about democracy. It does not provide any rules for the operation of military administrations in the context of transparency, openness or interaction with the community.

By their very nature, military administrations are not democratic bodies. They were created for quick decisions, not for citizen participation. And the law does not contain any norm that would oblige them to hold consultations or ensure citizens’ access to information.

Therefore, today community participation in many regions is based not on rules, but on the goodwill of specific leaders. This makes democracy vulnerable.

A separate problem is added by the 2024 law on people’s power, which obliges every community to have a charter. But military administrations are not councils and have no mechanisms either to adopt the statute or to implement it. The legal field is disintegrating before our eyes.

All this requires changes. Updated rules, adapted procedures and clear responsibilities of military administrations regarding openness are needed.

It is no less important to finally adopt draft law No. 6319 on updating the legislation on self-organization bodies of the population. It has been lying in the parliament for years, although it is the bodies of self-organization of the population that can become a pillar of democracy in communities that survive the war.

War does not abolish democracy. It makes it more necessary Ukraine pays an extremely high price for freedom. And that is why we have no right to give up what makes us a democracy. Martial law should not be a license to shut down. And not an indulgence for the authorities. If we want to rebuild the country together with the people, and not instead of them, we need clear rules, real participation mechanisms and a government that sees citizens as partners, not unnecessary risks.

Maria Makarovich

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