Sophie Falsini presents a fascinating analysis of the current state and future prospects of
Ukrainian civil society in light of the 2013-2014 events. Since then the country has been
shaken by both socio-political disorders and a deep humanitarian emergency also exacerbated by
the crisis of internally displaced people. Yet it is under these same premises that civil
society emerged as a main societal actor in post-Euromaidan politics development and reform.
Through its war relief work and the endeavors to lead Ukraine towards democratization civil
society has to a considerable degree offset the lack of an efficient state administration and
activated vital components of Ukrainian social capital.In respect to these achievements
Falsini explores the way and the extent to which the events occurring in Ukraine since late
2013-the Euromaidan revolution the annexation of Crimea and the war in the East-have
contributed to the growth of social capital as well as to the resulting change in the shape and
in the structure of civil society in the country.Through a multidimensional approach combining
theoretical interpretation with empirical analysis the study examines Ukraine's transformed
civil society in terms of its social relations societal networks and resources and collective
action. Based on the theory of social capital after Lin Nan the empirical analysis revolves
around the case studies of 12 civil society organizations active in providing help to
internally displaced people. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Kiev Dnipro and
Kharkiv aiming to confirm or discard the thesis of a post-Euromaidan civil society powered by
increased levels of social capital.The collected data show that the 2013-2014 events did indeed
contribute to the reshaping of the structure of Ukrainian civil society as they reversed
people's preference for informal and cross-level networks mistrust towards the system and
disappointment with public institutions. Compared to the past Ukraine's 'civil society 2.0'
saw the rise of grassroots and voluntary movements which triggered social mobilization and a
long-term investment of resources for the benefit of the public good. These developments have
significantly contributed to an increase of the level of social capital in post-Euromaidan
Ukraine.
