Women's Social Activism in the New Ukraine: Development and the Politics of Differentiation

When the socialist regimes of Eastern Europe fell in the early 1990s, it was assumed that robust civil societies would be the key to establishing democracy in the region. Western governments allocated millions of dollars to civil society building efforts, especially nongovernmental organizations. In postsocialist Ukraine, with privatization and the scaling back of the social safety net, it is primarily women who have been left as leaders of service-oriented NGOs and mutual-aid associations, caring for the marginalized and destitute with little or no support from the Ukrainian state. In this compelling study, Sarah D. Phillips follows eleven activists over the course of several years to document the unexpected effects that social activism has produced for Ukraine's women as they take up the "housework of politics." While NGO activism is generally assumed to be empowering in such situations, Phillips reveals the NGO sector to be a site for postsocialist "differentiation" of citizens, as criteria for productive citizenship are reworked, and the rights and needs of various categories of citizens redefined. By viewing the women's experiences in the broader context of social change, Ukrainian social welfare reform, and international development programs, Phillips examines intertwining processes of differentiation as certain types of claims, organizations, and NGO leaders are privileged over others, sharpening social inequalities.