«National catastrophism» and prospects of Ukraine’s development as a nation-state
Economic Annals-ХХI: Volume 144, Issue 9-10(1), Pages: 22-25
Citation information:
Kyrchaniv, M. (2014). «National catastrophism» and prospects of Ukraine’s development as a nation-state. Economic Annals-XXI, 9-10(1), 22-25. https://ea21journal.world/index.php/ea-v144-05/
Maksym Kyrchaniv
D.Sc. (History),
Associate Professor,
Department of Regional Studies and Economy of Foreign Countries
88 Moskovskii Ave, Voronezh, 394000, Russia
maksymkyrchanoff@gmail.com
«National catastrophism» and prospects of Ukraine’s development as a nation-state
Abstract. Purpose. The purpose of the article is research of the «national catastrophe» concept in Bulgarian discourse and its transplantation into Ukrainian context for analysis of main tendencies of nation-state, nation and identities transformations in Ukraine after violent reduction of political landscape caused by external factors. Methods. The concept of «national catastrophe» analyzed in the article was proposed by Bulgarian intellectuals. The narratives of «national catastrophe» play one of the central roles in development of identity and national memory. The term «national catastrophe» is used mainly in Bulgarian political and historical discourse. The prospects and possibilities of «national catastrophe» paradigm in Ukraine are still controversial and debatable. The understanding of the state of «national catastrophe» by Bulgarian society was the impetus for socio-economic changes and political transformations. The military and political defeat has assisted not only to the political and economic crises. The military failures which were integrated in the national memory and expressed in the «national catastrophe» also assisted to accelerating of the transformation of traditional identities into the nation-state nationalism.
Results. The author tries to transplant this idea in the Ukrainian context. Some Ukrainian intellectuals prefer to avoid the term «national catastrophe», but in fact, they debate on the prospects of development if Ukraine would lose political control over the eastern region. The famous Ukrainian writer and intellectual Yurii Andrukhovych believes that secession of Luhansk and Donetsk regions will be positive for the development of Ukrainian project. The annexation of Ukrainian territories (Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk) can become a stimulus for development of the Ukrainian identity and nationalism, and transformation of Ukrainian post-Soviet state in the Nation-State. Ukraine belongs to the number of countries that could be defined as the post-Soviet states. The processes of political transformation in Ukraine are still incomplete, although in the Soviet period the Ukrainian SSR was one of the most industrialized republics in the former Soviet Union.
Discussion. The potential and probable «national catastrophe» in Ukraine could assist to the forced and accelerated de-Sovietization and modernization of the political institutions. The consequences of the «national catastrophe» in Ukraine are comparable with the similar processes in Bulgaria. The «national catastrophe» could be imagined as the positive factor for the development of Ukrainian national project and transformation of the post-Soviet Ukraine into the Nation-State.
Keywords: National Catastrophe; Bulgaria; Ukraine; Historical Memory; Nationalism; Modernization; De-Sovietization
JEL Classification: F42; N50; R11; R22
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Received 06.07.2014