Social Mobilization in the Czech Republic in Response to the War in Ukraine
Social Mobilization in the Czech Republic in Response to the War in Ukraine

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyses the mobilization of Czech civil society in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, focusing on how selected non-governmental organizations framed the conflict in their public communications. Drawing on framing theory and employing a qualitative content analysis of websites and Facebook posts, we explore the diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational frames used by six Czech NGOs across the first two years of the war. Our findings reveal a marked divergence between humanitarian organizations, which emphasized individual suffering and aid delivery without politicization, and initiatives aimed at purchasing military equipment, which engaged in explicitly political and moral framing. While the former largely avoided attributing blame or invoking democratic values, the latter employed war rhetoric and mobilized public support through appeals to collective security. The study also captures the temporal shift in public engagement and fundraising efforts, noting a decline in solidarity in the second year of the conflict. We argue that the framing strategies adopted by civil society actors were shaped both by their organizational identities and by the evolving political opportunity structures in the Czech Republic.

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