Ukrainian volunteer fighters in the eastern front: ideas, political-social norms and emotions as mobilization mechanisms

Abstract

Following the outbreak of the insurgency in eastern Ukraine, thousands of volunteers joined pro-Kiev battalions. Although they have fiercely fought against pro-Kremlin forces, very little is known about them. The article will investigate why individuals have engaged in such a risky endeavour for no obvious material reward. It will claim that ideas, political-social norms and emotions have functioned as mobilization mechanisms that can explain individual decisions. Based on interviews, the article will argue that the mobilization of Ukrainian volunteer fighters has a strong cognitive-normative-emotional dimension that cannot be ignored and should be further explored.

Keywords:

• Eastern Ukraine
• Russia
• insurgents
• volunteer fighters
• ideas
• norms
• emotions

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewer for her/his insightful comments. The author is also grateful to Tracey German, Rod Thornton and Sophia Moskalenko for their feedback and criticism.

Notes

1. Only a small number of volunteer fighters had combat experience in Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia (Yankov 2015).

2. All Ukrainian fighters (volunteers, conscripts and professionals) will receive 120,000 hryvni (5000 USD) if they get injured in the ‘anti-terrorist operation’ (ATO) areas and their families will receive 600,000 hryvni (25,000 USD) if they get killed. Those who are injured can enter Ukrainian universities without exams (Sergey 2015).

3. Lypa claimed that Ukraine and Russia have mutually exclusive interests and therefore they can only be geopolitical rivals (Wilson 2002, 294–295).