Protest Mobilization by Ukrainians Abroad, 2013–2023

From the eve of Ukrainian independence, through the “Orange Revolution” of 2004 and the Euromaidan protests, all the way leading up to Russia’s overt invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and beyond, the broad Ukrainian diasporic community mobilized to support democratic change and, from 2014, to aid the war and humanitarian relief effort. Due to this transnational engagement, the Ukrainian diaspora was conceptualized as an influential stakeholder in Ukrainian affairs and its mobilization as an “extension” of Ukrainian social movements abroad (Lapshyna, The Ukrainian (post)revolutionary processes: diaspora mobilisations in the United Kingdom and Poland. Finisterra LVI(117):237–252, 2021). Scholars recognize diasporas’ potential to exert focused, organized, and powerful influence in international affairs. Multiple studies focus on how diasporas lobbied foreign governments to adopt pro-Ukrainian policies, helped spread pro-Ukrainian discourse to win the hearts and minds of global audiences, and raised funds to promote democratic transformation and relief efforts at home. Ukrainians abroad participated in rallies, signed petitions, and contacted their host countries’ politicians. This chapter aims to (a) provide a systematic review of burgeoning literature on the Ukrainian diaspora and (b) present an overview of the most recent wave of diasporic mobilization in Western European countries following the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022. I use the information on protest events from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), where representatives of diasporic communities (coded as “Ukrainian group”) were among the organizers and/or participants. I review the specific demands issued and analyze the actors with whom diaspora representatives allied in the context of these events.