“Knowledge, Resilience and Responsibility: Ukrainian and Polish Sociology in Wartime”

Organizers: Mikołaj Cześnik, SWPS University; Joanna Konieczna-Sałamatin, University of Warsaw

Moderator: Joanna Konieczna-Sałamatin, University of Warsaw

Panelists: Viktor Stepanenko, NASU; Olga Burova, NASU; tbc, NASU; Edwin Bendyk, Batory Foundation; Mikołaj Cześnik, SWPS University

In the face of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the unprecedented challenges confronting both Ukrainian society and the country’s academic community, Polish sociology cannot remain indifferent. The symposium *Knowledge, Resilience and Responsibility* is a response to the situation of our neighbors—researchers, scholars, institutions—who, despite the war conditions, continue their academic work, conduct field research, and strive to understand the social consequences of war.

In March 2025, a conference dedicated to social resilience and solidarity in wartime was held in Kyiv, co-organized by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, SWPS University, and the Stefan Batory Foundation. Participating in this event was a significant experience—not only intellectually, but also in terms of solidarity. It made us realize the immense value of knowledge produced under conditions of crisis and the importance of acts of academic solidarity.

This symposium aims to continue that dialogue and bring it into the most critical event in Polish sociology—the PTS Congress. We believe that, given the situation beyond our eastern border, the absence of such a voice from the Congress program would be a gap that is difficult to justify. We want to offer Ukrainian and Polish researchers a space for joint reflection on the social consequences of war, the role of sociology in times of crisis, and the responsibility of the social sciences in the face of violence, suffering, and social divisions.

Edwin Bendyk (Stefan Batory Foundation)  – The challenges of decentralization – the Polish case

The reforms of local government are widely regarded as the most successful of the Polish transformations since the fall of communism in 1989, with decentralization and self-government becoming the basis of Poland’s territorial system. Despite this, local authorities persistently voice discontent regarding their relationship with the government, accusing it of limiting local autonomy and burdening them with new tasks without providing adequate funding. This tension reached a particularly acute point from 2015 to 2023, under the administration of the United Right, which openly expressed its intention to centralize state power. Concurrently, the official government discourse placed a strong emphasis on its support for local governance and the well-being of local communities. The Stefan Batory Foundation has been participating in expert debates on local democracy and self-government for years. Based on this experience, the Foundation has decided to develop an analytical tool to measure the state of relations between local and central governments, using objective indicators. Their selection enabled the Foundation to create a synthetic measure of the relationship, which was subsequently named the Self-Government Index. The efficacy of the Index as a measurement tool has been demonstrated, enabling the observation of the dynamics of local government-central government relations with a time resolution of up to one year. Consequently, the Index has been instrumental in enriching the public debate on decentralization.

Olga Burova (Institute of Sociology, NASU, Kyiv)  – Resilience at risk: systemic corruption and institutional vulnerability in wartime Ukraine

This presentation examines systemic corruption as a critical factor undermining national resilience in wartime Ukraine. Moving beyond narrow definitions, corruption is conceptualized as a multidimensional phenomenon that erodes institutional capacity, deepens public distrust, and hampers the country’s ability to respond to external and internal crises. Drawing on recent sociological surveys conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the presentation highlights how citizens perceive corruption as one of the most pressing challenges, second only to military aggression. The analysis maps out four key dimensions of vulnerability: economic, social, political, and security-related, illustrating how corrupt practices—from administrative inefficiencies to defense procurement scandals—threaten the state’s functional legitimacy. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of public trust and the feedback loop between civic disillusionment and institutional decay. Comparative insights from other post-socialist countries are used to contextualize Ukraine’s experience and to underscore the need for systemic—not only reactive—reforms. The presentation also evaluates the performance and limitations of current anti-corruption mechanisms (NABU, NACP, HACC), the use of digital tools (e-declarations, ProZorro), and the role of international actors in sustaining the momentum of reform. Ultimately, the presentation argues that national resilience cannot be built without integrity at the core of governance, and that post-war recovery must go hand in hand with institutional cleansing and civic empowerment.

Viktor Stepanenko (Institute of Sociology, NASU, Kyiv) Civil society as a factor of resilience in wartime Ukraine

The transformation of civic activism in wartime Ukraine is examined. Civic activism in the country has developed a new experience that can be characterized in terms of various patterns of resilience. It is argued that the civil society, represented by NGO networks, volunteers, and active citizens, has become a vanguard and driving force of Ukrainian resistance and resilience in the war. In the Ukrainian case, the conceptual premises of the analysis encompass the concept of a ‘loose’ civil society, which is not limited to formal criteria such as NGO membership, but rather is related to the values and practices of active citizenship. The full-scale war has accelerated the consolidation of the Ukrainian civic nation. It is stated that this development constitutes a necessary foundation for civic activism and national resilience in the war. The peculiarities of civic activism as a resilience experience in its various forms, modifications, and configurations in wartime Ukraine are examined. Particularly, it focuses on the value-laden dimension and civic responsibility fostered in various applications of civic activism. The dynamics of power configuration between Ukraine’s civil society and the state are examined in terms of A. Gramsci’s approach. It is argued that, despite the limitations and challenges, the Ukrainian civil society continues to maintain democratic institutional resilience even in wartime.

Mikołaj Cześnik (Institute of Social Sciences, SWPS University) Poland’s socio-military potential: determinants of citizens’ readiness to defend the country

This paper investigates the social determinants of Poles’ willingness to defend their country, using data from the 2023 POLNES survey. The primary aim is to examine how age, education, economic status (class), political ideology, party preferences, and military experience influence defense readiness. The theoretical section reviews existing literature highlighting the role of national identity, political orientation, social inequality, perceived external threats, and media influence. Empirical findings focus first and foremost on men aged 18–49. They indicate that the willingness to fight is generally high across the sample. Military experience is associated with substantially higher readiness, especially among younger males. Religious attendance has no notable impact on defense attitudes. Education appears to be positively associated with readiness: individuals with higher education report a greater willingness to defend the country (69%) compared to those without (64%). In terms of subjective social class, the highest level of readiness is reported by those who identify with the upper class (81%), followed by the lower and middle classes. Political affiliation strongly differentiates attitudes on defense: readiness to defend the country is highest among voters of Konfederacja (86%) and surprisingly high among voters of Nowa Lewica (81%). In comparison, voters of KO (65%) and especially non-voters (46%) express the lowest readiness. Political orientation also matters: left, center, and right-leaning respondents report similar levels (66–69%), but politically undecided men are substantially less willing to defend the country (51%). These results suggest that civic defense attitudes in Poland are primarily shaped by political engagement, perceived social status, and military experience, rather than by religiosity or ideological divides. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy and societal implications of these disparities, emphasizing their relevance for Poland’s future defense potential in the context of ongoing social transformations.