Mobilization Potential of a Civil Society

Abstract

Oleg Yanitskiy — Leading Researcher, Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Address: Bldg. 5, 24/35, Krzhizhanovskogo St., Moscow, 117218, Russian Federation. E-mail: yanitsky@mtu-net.ru

The article contains sociological reflections about two cases of extreme ecological catastrophe: the forest fires in Beloomut in the south of Moskovskaya oblast’ and the fires in Vyksa and its surroundings in Nizhegorodskaya oblast’ in the summer of 2010. Both cases provide insightful examples for the study of social mobilization and the increasing role of the Internet in promoting such mobilization in Russia, which has always been marked for its weak civil society. The article starts with laying out theoretical foundations of studying social mobilization during catastrophic events. The author highlights that the summer disaster of 2010 forced people, including their relatives and friends, to self-organize without any instructions and charismatic leaders, even though these horizontal social networks have been rather weak, if not suppressed by the local structures which represent the state. However, in situation of extreme ecological catastrophe they have behaved and coordinate themselves quite effectively, and, in fact, much more effectively than the sluggish apparatus of state emergency when it came to dealing with fires, saving people and their property. Another focus of the article is the role of leaders in civil organizations, their professional and ethic features, which are also a crucial component of successful mobilization during catastrophic events. The authors come to the following conclusion: despite huge material losses and psychological stress, local people were able to cope with catastrophe because they proved their ability to self-organize.