Peaceful assemblies as a tool for the influence of environmental parties and NGOs on political processes in Ukraine

Abstract

The article examines peaceful assemblies as one of the tools of environmental political parties and NGOs in the context of their impact on political processes in Ukraine.
It is established that the specifics of organizational aspects, slogans and other features of peaceful assemblies of Ukrainian environmental parties and NGOs have changed since the late 1980s and during the years of the independence of Ukraine. In particular, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was a powerful stimulus for their intensification and peaceful protest rallies. As of 2021, the range of issues that are the cause and reason for peaceful assemblies is very wide. One of the most pressing is the problem of mitigating the effects of negative climate change and adapting to them.
The study does not reveal any significant differences between the specifics of the use of peaceful assemblies by environmental parties and environmental NGOs. All significant differences are related to the different status of these organizations and their connection to the electoral process. Instead, the scenarios of peaceful protest-type gatherings (demonstrations, marches, pickets), as well as positive actions (cleaning, landscaping, planting trees, etc.) for environmental parties and NGOs are identical in their characteristics.
On the eve and during the election campaigns, there is an intensification of environmental parties and NGOs in holding peaceful assemblies. Their specificity depends on the type of elections: during national elections, such actions are both local and national. During local elections, peaceful assemblies are predominantly local and address local issues.
Popular types of actions during the election period are protests with slogans and demands to the government, as in the vast majority of cases environmental parties in Ukraine are in opposition or critically evaluate actions of the government: both at the central and local levels. Environmental NGOs, in accordance with their status, provide advice and formulate requirements to election participants and encourage them to include environmental aspects and commitments in their programs, in particular in the form of an «environmental agenda».