My research focused on how the radical right party, Svoboda (Freedom Party), develops its organizational capacity, recruits new members, and makes linkages with non-political civic groups. I interviewed party activists, members of non-political nationalist groups, NGO leaders, and political experts in three regions in Ukraine where Svoboda has varying electoral support at the local level. In addition, I attended demonstrations and other party organized events. From these data, I conclude that informal civic groups play a key role in how the party organizes and maintains support for its agenda in between election cycles.
Alina Polyakova, of the University of California-Berkeley, was a 2011-2012 Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) [8] fellow.
