| Abstract [eng] |
The beginning of the war with Russia in eastern Ukraine was marked by a strong involvement of non-state actors. One of the main reasons was the inability and inadequacy of the state to ensure the security of its citizens and the territorial integrity of the country. As the situation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces changed and the volunteer battalions partially integrated into the regular army units, the focus seemed to have diminished, assuming that they had become insignificant as actors in the conflict. Nevertheless, Ukrainian regular troops still make extensive use of individuals or organizations for logistics, support services and equipment. Further they cooperate with volunteer fighters, used to perform certain tasks, in the so-called gray zone. The object of this study is to examine the Ukrainian non-state actors in the Ukrainian-Russian war, revealing their various form of participation, relations with state and government structures. The sim is further to examine the personal motivation for such a way of involvement in the conflict. In order to achieve this goal, 19 interviews were conducted with actors in the conflict: volunteers providing support to Ukrainian conflict participants, members of volunteer fighter units, individual volunteer fighters, as well as representatives of the Armed Forces, security and intelligence services of Ukraine. Patriotism and national identity seem to be the main motives for these actors to get involved in the conflict, while the inability of the state to ensure the functions traditionally attributed to the state led to the decision to participate in the conflict as a non-state actor. Moreover, these participants in the conflict do not want to feel constrained by military structures and perceive themselves as more efficient and useful outside the formal system. The study also reveals the complicated reciprocity of the relationship between the state and non-state actors - whereas the state tries to restrict or complicate the activities of non-state actors in various ways, while at the same time not explicitly prohibiting them and also using the services provided by such actors. Representatives of the state structures directly involved in military operations view volunteers positively and even tend to cooperate with them in various forms, even while hiding this from the authorities. The main basis for a positive relationship between volunteers and soldiers is the personal connections and commitments formed by common experience in the battlefield. The interaction between the macro (state) and the micro (social environment) is a very important part of this phenomenon, which becomes not only a basis for cooperation, but also an important motive for further participation in the conflict. The study highlighted the forms of participation of non-state actors, showed that volunteers not only complement and support the state's defense capabilities, but also try to push "forward", improving capacity and developing new forms of action and cooperation. Here, volunteer-supporters are important, who work with volunteers and the army with their support and ideas and thus allow volunteer fighters to improve their performance. The study suggests that the participation in the conflict in Ukraine of non-state actors has unique features, compared to non-state participation in conflicts in other parts of the World, and would require additional studies of these actors in the future. |
