The ‘Hard-to-Say’ Party in Ukraine: What Refraining from Answering Survey Questions Says About Ukrainian Society

Abstract

The aim of this analysis was to determine why, in public opinion surveys in Ukraine, a decidedly larger proportion of respondents than in countries of western and central Europe do not have their own opinion. The author believes that the causes are primarily two popular attitudes in the Ukraine: (1) the conviction that it doesn’t make sense for an ‘ordinary person’ to think about public affairs, because he has no chance to effect any sort of change; and (2) lack of trust in the survey-taker and the associated sense of the situation as being a sensitive one. The author’s inquiries reveal a higher degree of political alienation in Ukraine than in the majority of EU countries, and a lower level of civic engagement. At the same time, the author expresses the view that the revolution of 2013/2014 probably testifies to the fact that in the last few years the sense of detachment has decreased and will continue to diminish.