European Ukrainians and their fight against Russian invasion

Abstract

Is there evidence of significant ethno-linguistic/ethno-national rallying around the nation in Ukraine—as social science would have us expect in times of conflict? And, if so, might we expect this ethno-linguistic/ethno-national identity to rise with the prolongation of war? Or instead, is Ukrainian “civic-ness” the primary rally call that shaped and shapes collective identity in Ukraine? And if this collective identity is not ethno-linguistic in orientation then what values and political dispositions are bringing Ukrainians together in a time of crisis and war? Whilst political science might suggest that violence and extended periods of war can produce rallying to ethno-linguistic/ethno-national identity—original panel survey data collected among the Ukrainian population in March/April 2019, January/February 2021, and 2 December 2021/16 February 2022 coupled with a cross-sectional nationally representative survey collected 19–24 May 2022 provide evidence that ongoing regional war, crises, and now all-out invasion by Russia have shored up civic and not ethno-linguistic/ethno-national identities. Moreover, this civic identity is bounded to pro-European pro-democratic orientations.