Heorhii Udzhmadzhuridze,

Department of Sociology, 

Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, Ukraine

E-mail: g.udzhmadzhuridze@gmail.com

Individual significance of political participation in today’s Ukrainian society: The case of Dnipro city

Svitlana Bilan,

Faculty of Management,

Rzeszów University of Technology,

Poland

E-mail: s.bilan@prz.edu.pl

Vitaliy Kryvoshein,

Department of Sociology,

Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, Ukraine

E-mail: 1-704@i.ua

ORCID: 0000-0002-3380-7850

Abstract. The article is dedicated to consideration of the phenomenon of political participation and its individual functional significance in the context of contemporary Ukrainian society. Several theoretical approaches to analysis of the phenomenon of political participation are presented. Exploration of the phenomenon of political participation in the context of Ukrainian society is carried out through the use of methodological ideas of the social practice theory. Through the analysis of qualitative semi-structured interviews of political activists of the Dnipro region, the functional sense and individual significance of political participation are clarified. The author draws the conclusion that in the region in question  political participation of individuals: actualises the deep sociocultural divisions, serves as an instrument of struggle between citizens and political elites for the establishment of civil society, enhances social cognitions stereotyping, construct the space of sociopolitical identities.

Received: October, 2018

1st Revision: December, 2018

Accepted: February, 2019

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2019/12-1/11

JEL Classification: D72

Keywords: interview, political participation, practice theory, civil society, Ukraine