9. Citizens’ perspectives: Reform and social cohesion in Ukraine’s border regions

This chapter presents the results of a representative population survey. It shows how Ukrainians perceive the recent decentralization reform and the laws regulating Ukrainian as the language of instruction in the schools, and outlines how the border regions of Kharkiv and Chernivtsi differ in this respect. Drawing on Chan et al.’s model of social cohesion, the analysis measures two general components of social cohesion—people’s mindsets (subjective component) on the one hand and behavioural manifestations (objective component) on the other. Each component is investigated in its horizontal dimension (cohesion within the civil society) and its vertical dimension (state–citizen cohesion). Applying multiple correspondence analysis, we identify four basic types of respondents, which are, in relative terms, included or excluded, as well as active or passive. The results suggest that the reform policies have affected these two dimensions in different ways. Future research on diversity in Ukraine will need to go beyond regional and ethno-cultural features, as they intersect with socio-economic and elite–ordinary people cleavages.