The Dynamics of Ukrainian National Belonging: Regional and Transnational Perspectives
As a Prisma Ukraïna Fellow, Ivan Kozachenko will work on a project investigating urban social movements in the city of Kharkiv and diasporic identities after the Euromaidan revolution. Previous studies that portrayed Ukraine as implacably divided across regional, ethnic and linguistic lines, or even as a ‘bipolar nation’, appear generally misleading and thus systematic empirical updates and theoretical reflections are needed. While there is a growing body of literature that addresses the national or societal level, regional and overseas settings remain somewhat overlooked. In order to fill this gap, this project will explore how the changes of socio-political structures and national discourses influence urban communities and spaces as well as the making of diasporic ‘selves’. Additionally, this study will scrutinise the role of social media in mobilisation processes and cultural representations. The goal of this project is to provide a conceptual framework to better understand the recent developments caused by the Euromaidan revolution and Russian aggression against Ukraine. Using ethnographic data, the investigation will highlight the ways in which symbolic frames and senses of national belonging are constructed in regional and transnational perspectives.