SCENARIOS OF UKRAINIAN POLITICAL NATION DEVELOPMENT
IN THE YOUTH’S REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE
Authors:
I. V. Оstapenko, PhD (Candidate of Psychological Sciences),
Head of Department for Psychology of Youth Political Behavior,
Institute for Social and Political Psychology оf NAES of Ukraine
ORCID: 0000-0001-6710-5964 Researcher ID: V-3216-2017
E-mail: ostapenko.iryna.vit@gmail.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/upj.2024.1(21).7
Article Information
Issue: 1(21) 2024, pages: 110-123
Language: Ukranian
Received: 12.05.2024
1 st Revision: 15.05.2024
Accepted: 17.05.2024
Abstract
The relevance of the study is caused by the need to identify the features of the relationship between national identity and Ukrainian youth`s representations about the future. The aim of the article is to highlight the results of a qualitative focus group study of the peculiarities of the manifestation of national identification in young people’s ideas about the future.
According to the results of the study, it was established that the national identity of young Ukrainians is formed around a political nation, not belonging to an ethnic group. Language, culture and history play a big role in the sense of belonging. The Ukrainian nation is characterized by the majority of young people as monolithic, integral, united. Because of the war, national identity has become more pronounced and pro-Western.
The contours of possible scenarios for the development of the Ukrainian political nation have been outlined as follows: 1) cohesion growth; 2) radicalization; 3) leaning towards authoritarianism; 4) successful democratic development; 5) isolationism; 6) struggle for the independence restoration (in case of military defeat).
Uncertainty due to the war is characteristic of Ukrainian youth’s representations about their own future. The future is primarily connected with Ukraine as a state that is the highest value for them. Young people have some problems with planning the future for a short time perspective (up to a year). It is much easier to imagine it in 5-30 years, which is connected with the desire to «skip» the war period and imagine a happy post-war time. However, the vast majority of young people are self-confident and believe that the future depends more on them than on circumstances. In the minds of young people, the future of Ukraine is connected primarily with recovery, reconstruction, development, and successful reforms. Our country can become an example for others in defending independence. At the same time, young people assume the possibility of risks associated with the negative consequences of war (economic crisis, military crisis, authoritarianization of the country). Young people believe that it is possible to contribute to the approximation of a positive scenario for the development of Ukraine in the future thanks to donations for the needs of the army, through participation in social projects, conscious choice and control of the authorities through public disclosure of corruption scandals. Prospects for further research consist in the determining possible directions for the development of state educational policy in the context of European integration.
Key words:national identification, planning the future, national identity, war, student youth`s representations, scenarios of the development of a political nation, focus group research.
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