A gender perspective on the role of technology in democratic development through wartime civic engagement

ABSTRACT

Civic engagement during crisis response not only addresses immediate challenges but also acts as a catalyst for democratic development. In a diverse society facing collective threats, such as a military invasion, people learn to manage and respond to crises cooperatively, searching for effective instruments of self-organizing and responding. Technology plays a crucial role in empowering civic actors, enabling them to acquire both interpersonal and political power for effective co-action. Recognizing that their actions take place within socio-technical arrangements where technology, institutions, and societies are interconnected and mutually influential is essential. Although, technology use entails certain risks, this interconnectivity enhances inclusivity, providing benefits to individuals of all genders, particularly those who encounter barriers to physical participation. It amplifies the voices of women and LGBTIQ+ individuals, thereby increasing the efficiency and convenience of engaging in efforts to address socially significant issues. This paper delves into the nuanced, gendered role that technology plays in the democratic development of a society at war through its civic engagement in the collective response to threats, highlighting the transformative potential of technological inclusivity in fostering democratic resilience against external threats.

KEYWORDS:

• Technology
• gender
• society
• civic engagement
• democracy
• SDG 5: gender equality
• Ukraine
• war
• development
• policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be responsible for them. [101127002-E-comUnity-ERASMUS-JMO-2023-HEI-TCH-RSCH].

Notes on contributors

Olga Matveieva

Olga Matveieva is a civic engagement researcher, an associate professor at the Institute of Public Administration at Dnipro University of Technology, a PSI research fellow at the Marie Jahoda Center for International Gender Studies at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, and the head of the NGO “Ukrainian Expert Foundation.” Her research interests cover the societal and democratic implications of digitalization in Eastern Europe, focusing on cooperation between local government and civil society organizations. She applies a gender lens to study the processes of societal democratic transformation in the digital environment as outcomes of gender mainstreaming.