Through Protest to Reform: Euromaidan and Decentralization in Ukraine

Can protest activities promote institutional reforms at the local level? This study investigates the connection between the Euromaidan protests and the subsequent decentralization reform in Ukraine. In the aftermath of Euromaidan, Ukraine implemented several institutional changes, notably an administrative and fiscal reform aimed at strengthening the power of local communities in relation to the central government. From 2015 to 2020, the reform was adopted on a voluntary basis, leading to significant variation in the timing of its implementation across different territorial communities. The timing largely depended on the political will of local residents and authorities to decentralize. I argue that communities with stronger legacy of protest activities during Euromaidan enjoyed higher levels of civic engagement which facilitated faster and smoother implementation of the decentralization reform. This study exploits the variation in the timing of the decentralization reform to demonstrate that areas exposed to local Euromaidan events were more likely to adopt the decentralization reform earlier. The observed relationship is attributed to the experiential learning from protests, which equipped local residents with practical skills in participatory democracy. These findings highlight the pivotal role of civic engagement in facilitating voluntary institutional changes.