Humor as a form of political participation: A study of the “Cardboard Maidan”

Abstract

The study examines humor as a form of political participation using the case of the «Cardboard Maidan», a series of mass protest actions that took place in Ukraine in the summer of 2025 in response to the adoption of a law limiting the independence of anti-corruption institutions. The research aims to identify the typological features, cultural codes, functions of humor, and its role within the system of unconventional forms of civic activism under martial law. The study applies a comprehensive methodological approach: typological analysis for classifying humor strategies according to R. Martin (aggressive, affiliative, self-enhancing/self-deprecating); content analysis of protest slogans to systematize symbolic codes; and discourse analysis to explore cultural and intertextual allusions. The typological analysis revealed a dominance of aggressive humor as direct ridicule of the authorities; affiliative humor used to build collective identity; and self-ironic humor as a reflection on circumstances. Key cultural codes were identified: the hashtag #12414 as a symbol of corruption and betrayal; protesting dogs as a form of soft protest through cognitive dissonance; comparisons to Yanukovych as a symbol of authoritarianism; and the use of profanity as a means of breaking taboos in official discourse. Four core narratives were established: anti-corruption, defense-related, national unity, and criticism of the authorities. The study finds that humor within the «Cardboard Maidan» served four interrelated functions: psychological protection amid war and political crisis; political mobilization through lowering the psychological barrier to participation; symbolic subversion of official state narratives through carnivalesque reversal of hierarchies; and the formation of a collective identity among protesters. The research demonstrates a transformation of political participation in contemporary Ukraine, where humor shifts from a peripheral element to a mechanism of grassroots political mobilization and the articulation of civic demands. Creativity, symbolic politics, and visual communication emerge as alternative forms of civic activism, particularly relevant and effective under the constraints of martial law, when traditional protest formats may be limited. This highlights Ukrainian society’s capacity for innovative self-organization, creative adaptation to restrictive conditions, and effective articulation of political demands through unconventional communication channels, opening new avenues for future research on the transformation of political culture and civic engagement amid the hybrid challenges of the present.