Current Fellows

What are the effects of the full-scale war on the relation between feelings of belonging to the Ukrainian political nation and to one’s own ethnic community? In this research, I am chiefly interested in identity transformations of ethnic minorities as a result of external shock. An important factor in my qualitative research is the role of the kin-state, and to what extent ethnic minorities’ political identities are shaped by the presence or absence of kin-state politics. Thus, to account for the role of kin-state politics, I want to focus on two border regions of Ukraine, which feature varying degrees of cross-border exchange between neighbouring states, their ethnic kin in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian state: Zakarpattia and Odesa Oblasts. Specifically, the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattia, and the Moldovan/Romanian in Odesa. In addition, two ethnic minority groups without a kin-state will be analysed in my study for comparison - the Roma and the Crimean Tatars. First evidence suggests that the well-established Hungarian and Romanian minorities, which both feature civil society networks and organisations, facilitated cross-border communication and assistance in aid delivery by the kin-state. As the full-scale war enters its fourth year, it is worth investigating these processes to discern whether this engagement has contributed to the long-term consolidation of a civic identity among minorities.