Implementation of the Community Resilience Approach in the System of Crisis Management of Ukraine in 2022-2024

Purpose: The article examines the impact of military operations on changes in the crisis management system at the local level in Ukraine. Existing research on community resilience mainly analyses the processes of countering emergencies in peacetime (natural disasters, catastrophes, climate change, etc.), while in the case of Ukraine, the conditions of a natural experiment have developed, which at the community level manifests itself as a series of permanent emergencies resulting from the military aggression of the Russian Federation. The purpose of the article is to study the processes of implementing the Community Resilience Approach in wartime. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study included 6 semi-structured interviews with people directly involved in crisis management in local communities. The respondents were selected in such a way as to cover communities that were temporarily occupied and/or under the threat of occupation and/or periodically suffered from air attacks by the Russian Federation. In parallel, we also analysed changes in Ukraine's legal framework for 2022-2024 in the context of crisis management at the local level. The interview transcripts and texts of changes in regulations were subjected to qualitative analysis using the developed code system in the MAXQDA environment. Findings: Ukrainian communities demonstrate a high level of community resilience, including through networking among community members, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and the use of innovative solutions to use community resources. Authorities have proved to be less flexible than community members. Legislative changes are more inert compared to practices implemented at the local level. Practical Implications: The results of the comparative analysis of Community Resilience Approach practices and the realities of regulatory changes allow Ukrainian legislators to disseminate and consolidate successful technologies in the practice of crisis management at the local level. Originality/Value: The findings of the study Implementation of the Community Resilience Approach in wartime are unique because of the conditions of the natural experiment that local communities in Ukraine are experiencing. The identified tendencies toward voluntary mobilisation of community members in ‘dark times’ have become an important factor in the implementation of the Community Resilience Approach in Ukraine, which motivates theorists to rethink the role of citizens in crisis management processes.