Political Parties, Transnational Ties, and Protest Mobilization: Euromaidan in Ukraine, 2013-2014

Whereas parties with transnational ties can influence domestic protest mobilization, the mechanisms for how this happens are not clear. I elucidate these mechanisms by drawing on resource mobilization and international party assistance literature and analyzing a likely case for this to occur: Euromaidan in Ukraine. Mechanisms through which transnational connections enhance the capacity for mobilization include (a) leveling the political field (b), socializing parties (c), membership conditionality requirements and (d) direct messages of empathy and support. In 2013–14, transnational ties provided important avenues for the challenger coalition to access resources in resistance to the increasingly authoritarian regime.