Civil activism in local communities: motivation of participance, performance and resource relationship

Abstract

This article considers conditions and factors of civil activism at micro-local and meso-levels of social relations. Civic activism is viewed as attitudes and practices oriented towards solving social problems of different levels through social creativity and self-organization of citizens. Self-organization is the process of establishing direct ties and contacts between citizens to solve personal and socially significant problems. Participation in collective actions, associated with provision of amenities and assistance, becomes increasingly widespread among representatives of local communities in cases of legal insecurity and a deficit of material and information resources. Initiators of collective action are citizens themselves, their neighbors in the house (street), representatives of public organizations, less often - representatives of government bodies or management companies. As results of the survey showed, respondents are more willing to engage in any initiatives organized by others than to act as their immediate initiator. Basic motives of civil activism are a pursuit of preventing social environment of a residential territory from degradation, helping people in a difficult life situation and satisfying needs for altruistic and collective types of behavior. Actors of social work consider it to be quite efficient in terms of social significance (e.g. improvement of apartment houses and surrounding areas, improvement of a legal base, educational effect for the younger generation, preservation of cultural traditions) and personal development (e.g. acquisition of experience, specific knowledge, competencies in the field of public benefit, multiplying social capital, increasing self-esteem, improving self-esteem, obtaining diplomas, letters that can be useful for career advancement).