State in a Smartphone: Ukraine’s Critical Navigation of a Service Delivery App as a Wartime Defence Tool

This case explores the rise of Diia, Ukraine’s groundbreaking digital governance platform, through the lens of leadership, innovation and crisis. In 2022, Ukraine responded to the needs of a war-torn country through Diia, a platform initially intended for the digitalization of government services. Between February 2022, when the full-scale invasion began, and May of that same year, more than 49 services were launched on the portal and the app. Among those features was the eEnemy chatbot, allowing citizens to report any suspicious activities, objects or people.

Diia enabled citizens to move within and outside the country without any disruption to their engagement with the state, ultimately saving lives and caring for the wellbeing of the citizens, while giving people the freedom to make choices and contribute to the war effort. But crucial to the governance dilemma was that Diia could also put civilians at risk, impose unintended surveillance and make them targets.