Ukraine Programme 2017 1. Political update 2017
The momentum for political and institutional change and the energy generated by the Euromaidan has continued to wane in 2016, giving way to a much more sobering reality in which transactional politics and personalism - both markers of “old-school” Ukrainian politics - seem to continue to dominate the political scene. Two years after Ukrainian citizens’ mobilization astonished the world, uncertainty about the country’s future continues to dominate. And the hard-won space for the development of a more pluralistic and democratic polity seems to be, once again, at risk. The current overall situation is very unstable and impacts on the political system. On the one hand, because of the ongoing war, priorities have often gone to more urgent issues. On the other hand, as an effect of the EuroMaidan protests and regime change, significant opportunities appeared for political parties to emerge as promising forces to draw a new agenda for Ukraine. Corruption in Ukraine remains endemic, with politics’ dependence on the pervasive influence of oligarchs. As a consequence, the level of political representation is very limited as is the level of legitimacy. This situation also affects the ruling coalition, which is affected by tensions, rivalries and total lack of experience in conducting dialogue. The Parliament has little power and is very fragmented. Most of the political parties are heavily sponsored or owned by oligarchs and thus do factually not lack financial resources. The new political party law establishes a new mechanism for providing public funding to political parties, which have reached the 5% threshold to enter the National Parliament. Similarly, it establishes new templates, which oblige parties to report on their finances. However, there is not much clarity as to how this new law will work as parties struggle to address the new requirements in terms of funding reporting and transparency. The most prominent feature of Ukraine’s political culture is the gap between a strong civil society and a weak political society. The spirit of Maidan is still there and civic activism is vibrant, having become a force to be reckoned with by politicians. The volunteer movement to help the soldiers in the East illustrated the capacity of citizens to mobilize themselves and organize services the government used to provide for. In this regard, political parties leaders and MPS tend to perceive CSOs as useful partners, which can fill some of their organizational and legitimacy gaps. The relationship between CSOs and political parties is therefore evolving towards a more utilitarian approach, particularly at the individual level. However, this doesn’t translate in an overall increase in the levels of trust between political parties and CSOs.  

2. Programme & Theory of Change Update
Hence, transforming the way in which political parties articulate political competition and institutional cooperation is a critical step in order to consolidate a sustainable path for institutional reform and democratization, which for the time being seems to elude the Ukrainian polity. The NIMD will therefore continue its efforts to address the capacity of political actors, further improve the political and electoral playing field and to enhance democratic political culture. This will be done through bilateral support programs to political parties but, taking in account the volatility of the political party landscape in the country, NIMD will also set out to support individual, reform minded political actors in the Ukrainian parliament and local councils after the local elections of 2017. It will open two democracy schools to support the emerge of a new class of democracy activists and the enhancement of the accountability of political parties towards the society. Through targeted, tailor made trainings, NIMD will support the capacity building of women politicians in the run-up to local elections as well as promote democratic reform in both existing and newly established political parties. Special emphasis will be put on trust building efforts and the inclusion of women and youth. Finally, NIMD will continue to address other salient issues of Ukrainian politics, namely political finance and political party regulation, via a series of public debates and publications.

1. Political update 2017
The momentum for political and institutional change and the energy generated by the Euromaidan has continued to wane in 2016, giving way to a much more sobering reality in which transactional politics and personalism - both markers of “old-school” Ukrainian politics - seem to continue to dominate the political scene. Two years after Ukrainian citizens’ mobilization astonished the world, uncertainty about the country’s future continues to dominate. And the hard-won space for the development of a more pluralistic and democratic polity seems to be, once again, at risk. The current overall situation is very unstable and impacts on the political system. On the one hand, because of the ongoing war, priorities have often gone to more urgent issues. On the other hand, as an effect of the EuroMaidan protests and regime change, significant opportunities appeared for political parties to emerge as promising forces to draw a new agenda for Ukraine. Corruption in Ukraine remains endemic, with politics’ dependence on the pervasive influence of oligarchs. As a consequence, the level of political representation is very limited as is the level of legitimacy. This situation also affects the ruling coalition, which is affected by tensions, rivalries and total lack of experience in conducting dialogue. The Parliament has little power and is very fragmented. Most of the political parties are heavily sponsored or owned by oligarchs and thus do factually not lack financial resources. The new political party law establishes a new mechanism for providing public funding to political parties, which have reached the 5% threshold to enter the National Parliament. Similarly, it establishes new templates, which oblige parties to report on their finances. However, there is not much clarity as to how this new law will work as parties struggle to address the new requirements in terms of funding reporting and transparency. The most prominent feature of Ukraine’s political culture is the gap between a strong civil society and a weak political society. The spirit of Maidan is still there and civic activism is vibrant, having become a force to be reckoned with by politicians. The volunteer movement to help the soldiers in the East illustrated the capacity of citizens to mobilize themselves and organize services the government used to provide for. In this regard, political parties leaders and MPS tend to perceive CSOs as useful partners, which can fill some of their organizational and legitimacy gaps. The relationship between CSOs and political parties is therefore evolving towards a more utilitarian approach, particularly at the individual level. However, this doesn’t translate in an overall increase in the levels of trust between political parties and CSOs.  

2. Programme & Theory of Change Update
Hence, transforming the way in which political parties articulate political competition and institutional cooperation is a critical step in order to consolidate a sustainable path for institutional reform and democratization, which for the time being seems to elude the Ukrainian polity. The NIMD will therefore continue its efforts to address the capacity of political actors, further improve the political and electoral playing field and to enhance democratic political culture. This will be done through bilateral support programs to political parties but, taking in account the volatility of the political party landscape in the country, NIMD will also set out to support individual, reform minded political actors in the Ukrainian parliament and local councils after the local elections of 2017. It will open two democracy schools to support the emerge of a new class of democracy activists and the enhancement of the accountability of political parties towards the society. Through targeted, tailor made trainings, NIMD will support the capacity building of women politicians in the run-up to local elections as well as promote democratic reform in both existing and newly established political parties. Special emphasis will be put on trust building efforts and the inclusion of women and youth. Finally, NIMD will continue to address other salient issues of Ukrainian politics, namely political finance and political party regulation, via a series of public debates and publications.

1. Political update 2017
The momentum for political and institutional change and the energy generated by the Euromaidan has continued to wane in 2016, giving way to a much more sobering reality in which transactional politics and personalism - both markers of “old-school” Ukrainian politics - seem to continue to dominate the political scene. Two years after Ukrainian citizens’ mobilization astonished the world, uncertainty about the country’s future continues to dominate. And the hard-won space for the development of a more pluralistic and democratic polity seems to be, once again, at risk. The current overall situation is very unstable and impacts on the political system. On the one hand, because of the ongoing war, priorities have often gone to more urgent issues. On the other hand, as an effect of the EuroMaidan protests and regime change, significant opportunities appeared for political parties to emerge as promising forces to draw a new agenda for Ukraine. Corruption in Ukraine remains endemic, with politics’ dependence on the pervasive influence of oligarchs. As a consequence, the level of political representation is very limited as is the level of legitimacy. This situation also affects the ruling coalition, which is affected by tensions, rivalries and total lack of experience in conducting dialogue. The Parliament has little power and is very fragmented. Most of the political parties are heavily sponsored or owned by oligarchs and thus do factually not lack financial resources. The new political party law establishes a new mechanism for providing public funding to political parties, which have reached the 5% threshold to enter the National Parliament. Similarly, it establishes new templates, which oblige parties to report on their finances. However, there is not much clarity as to how this new law will work as parties struggle to address the new requirements in terms of funding reporting and transparency. The most prominent feature of Ukraine’s political culture is the gap between a strong civil society and a weak political society. The spirit of Maidan is still there and civic activism is vibrant, having become a force to be reckoned with by politicians. The volunteer movement to help the soldiers in the East illustrated the capacity of citizens to mobilize themselves and organize services the government used to provide for. In this regard, political parties leaders and MPS tend to perceive CSOs as useful partners, which can fill some of their organizational and legitimacy gaps. The relationship between CSOs and political parties is therefore evolving towards a more utilitarian approach, particularly at the individual level. However, this doesn’t translate in an overall increase in the levels of trust between political parties and CSOs.  

2. Programme & Theory of Change Update
Hence, transforming the way in which political parties articulate political competition and institutional cooperation is a critical step in order to consolidate a sustainable path for institutional reform and democratization, which for the time being seems to elude the Ukrainian polity. The NIMD will therefore continue its efforts to address the capacity of political actors, further improve the political and electoral playing field and to enhance democratic political culture. This will be done through bilateral support programs to political parties but, taking in account the volatility of the political party landscape in the country, NIMD will also set out to support individual, reform minded political actors in the Ukrainian parliament and local councils after the local elections of 2017. It will open two democracy schools to support the emerge of a new class of democracy activists and the enhancement of the accountability of political parties towards the society. Through targeted, tailor made trainings, NIMD will support the capacity building of women politicians in the run-up to local elections as well as promote democratic reform in both existing and newly established political parties. Special emphasis will be put on trust building efforts and the inclusion of women and youth. Finally, NIMD will continue to address other salient issues of Ukrainian politics, namely political finance and political party regulation, via a series of public debates and publications. Political actors are defined as the combined main target group of the Strategic Partnership: - (representatives of) political parties - politicians - (Members of) Parliament and its Committees - Other elected representatives at local levels. NIMD will primarily focus on political parties.