Authors

Discussion

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has once again thrust the country into the international spotlight and raised questions about its pro-European orientation. Yet conversations about Ukrainian national identity began long before 2022. How can we understand the historical roots of Ukrainian identity and their relationship to foreign policy? This paper investigates meta-narratives of identity among Ukrainian masses and foreign policy preferences between 2004 and 2014. Using post-colonial literary analysis and a variety of popular documents, I argue that mass narratives of identity in Ukraine are characterized by tension in different dimensions. These dimensions are elite vs people, svidomi vs not, “reality” vs “culture wars”, and Ukraine vs its Others. The interplay of these narratives, in turn, shaped Ukraine’s foreign policy in ways still felt today. This research challenges predominant views of Ukrainian identity as neatly divided between a pro-European Ukrainian-speaking West and a pro-Russian Russophone Southeast, as well as the centrality of “balancing” to Ukraine’s foreign policy. Thus, I contribute a more nuanced understanding of Ukrainian national identity that re-centers Ukrainian perspectives amongst conversations about European and Russian interests.