#  From Civilian Life to the Frontline: A Micro-Sociological Approach to the Engagement of Ukrainian Volunteer Combatants (2014-2022) 

 



    ![Little stray cat on Ukrainian soldier's shoulder outdoors, closeup](/sites/g/files/omnuum4931/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2025-04/2025.05.6%20Maestracci-1-1200x600-email.png?h=bfcb6cb3&itok=q_WIKONj) 

 



 

####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **May 6, 2025** 

 12:00PM - 01:30PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **Pritsak Memorial Library at HURI**  

 [34 Kirkland St  
Cambridge, MA 02138  
United States



 ](<https://www.google.com/maps?q=US MA Cambridge 02138 34 Kirkland St>) 



 

 



 

### A lecture by [Coline Maestracci](https://www.huri.harvard.edu/people/coline-maestracci), PhD in Political Science from the Université de Bruxelles (Belgium), Postdoc at the École de Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris (France), Research Fellow at the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University (February–May 2025).

Moderated by [**Megan K Duncan Smith**](https://www.huri.harvard.edu/people/megan-duncan-smith), Programs Coordinator at the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University.

IN-PERSON

Casual lunch will be provided.

## About the Lecture

At the beginning of the war in spring 2014, many civilians decided to take up arms to defend Ukraine, joining either the Ukrainian army or the volunteer battalions created across Ukrainian territory. Based on a qualitative survey of volunteer combatants conducted between 2019 and 2021, this research seeks to understand the engagement trajectory of volunteer combatants’ by adopting a micro-sociological approach.

  
The micro-sociological approach adopted in this research allows us to move away from the question of state-building or state-failure, which often dominates the study of armed conflict, and to focus the analysis on individuals. We consider armed engagement as a process that is reshaped by events and contexts. The processual analysis shows the continuities between the engagement on Maidan Square in winter 2013-2014 and military engagement in Spring 2014, but also individual’s autonomy in their path of engagement.

## About the Speaker

   ![Photo of Coline Maestracci](/sites/g/files/omnuum4931/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/MAESTRACCI%20Coline-2.jpg?itok=HeWWKLFh) 

 

Coline Maestracci holds a PhD in political science from the Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. Her thesis focuses on the engagement and disengagement trajectories of Ukrainian volunteer combatants in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Her current research focuses on the effects of war on the family institution in Ukraine. After defending her thesis, she was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the École des hautes etudes en sciences sociales in Paris and a research fellowship at Harvard University. Coline Maestracci has published several articles in French peer-reviewed journals (Socio and Revue d’étude comparative Est-Ouest). She is currently coordinating a special issue for the peer-reviewed journals Europe-Asia Studies dedicated to the postwar trajectories of combatants in the former Soviet republics. Her doctoral thesis will soon be published in French by Presse Universitaire de Bruxelles. Coline Maestracci has taken part in several international conferences, including the Association for the Study of nationalities, the Danyliw Research Seminar, and several research seminars at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en sciences sociales in Paris. Since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Coline Maestracci has made numerous public conferences for students, but also for the general public and in the media. She was awarded the 2022 prize for scientific dissemination by Université libre de Bruxelles.

──────────────────

*This event is organized by Harvard's* [*Ukrainian Research Institute*](https://huri.harvard.edu/) *(HURI) as part of the Ukraine Study Group event series.*

*Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Hanna Leliv, HURI Events Logistics Coordinator, at* [*hleliv@fas.harvard.edu*](mailto:hleliv@fas.harvard.edu) *at least two weeks in advance of the session.*

*Watch videos of past HURI events on our* [*YouTube Channel*](https://www.youtube.com/user/huriyt) *and* [*subscribe*](https://web.lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/lists/huri-events-list.lists.fas.harvard.edu/) *to our email list to receive announcements about events and other activities.*



 

 



 

 See also:- [ Ukraine Study Group ](/event-type/ukraine-study-group)
- [ Contemporary Ukraine ](/fields-expertise/contemporary-ukraine)
- [ Russia-Ukraine War ](/fields-expertise/russia-ukraine-war)
- [ Sociology ](/fields-expertise/sociology)
 
 

 Share on:- [     Facebook ](#)
- [     Twitter ](#)
- [     Linkedin ](#)
 


 Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://www.huri.harvard.edu/node/1618006/event-feed.ics)  Copy link link