New Cultural Practices as an Instrument of National Identity Formation under Wartime

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to analyse new cultural practices as a mechanism for the formation of national unity in wartime, as well as to identify their sociocultural functions and impact on the collective identity of Ukrainians. The research methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach that combines the provisions of cultural studies, sociology of culture, communication theory and modern memory studies. Such a methodological combination allowed the authors to comprehensively understand cultural practices not only as manifestations of creative activity, but also as socio-communicative mechanisms that ensure the stability and unity of the Ukrainian society. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive analysis of cultural practices during the war as a factor of national unity, which combines aesthetic, communicative, social and ethical dimensions, as well as in identifying new types of cultural practices that emerged in wartime: volunteer, memorial-therapeutic, symbolic-brand, memno-digital. Conclusions. During wartime, cultural practices acquire special importance, they become a means of symbolic resistance, self-identification, and affirmation of cultural subjectivity. It is through culture that a new quality of national unity is formed, based on common values, memory, and symbols. In wartime, these practices perform an integration, communicative, mobilising, symbolic and therapeutic function, contributing to the consolidation of society and the comprehension of the experience of war. New forms of community combine art, civic activity, and psychological support. Artistic activism, volunteerism, memorial projects, digital culture, and symbolic campaigns affirm the image of Ukraine as strong, open, and worthy. Strengthening the role of language, the development of meme culture, art volunteering and the honouring of heroes have become manifestations of cultural mobilisation. Such practices preserve cultural continuity and create a new identity – a synthesis of the traditional and the modern, the local, and the global. In the context of war, culture becomes a resource of social resilience: through it, Ukrainians experience trauma, affirm solidarity, and form a humanistic paradigm of unity based on freedom, dignity, and creativity.