The influence of cultural factors on the reidentification of Ukrainian refugees

Abstract

The article deals with the transformation of the national identity of Ukrainian refugees during the 2022 war and the influence of cultural factors on this process. The process of reidentifying the refugee’s national identity is considered as a case of ethnomethodology. Ethnomethodology in our research is not the method, but the theoretical approach making it possible to use quantitative methods. According to ethnomethodology, in order to understand how social constructions work, they should be destroyed, which allows the authors to study their reconstruction. Refugees experience the complete destruction of their usual life and the need to reidentify national identity due to the changes associated with moving abroad, the need to update models of behavior, life strategy, and lifestyles. It is not a new identity, it is still Ukrainian identity. The authors focus on reidentifying Ukrainian refugees and the role of different cultural factors in that process. Identity is flexible and the process of reidentification continues during the whole life of each person. We observe the rise of Ukrainian identity with the start of war in 2014 and then escalation in 2022. The research question is how cultural factors influence the identification process, how it is structured. The research subject is Ukrainian identity. The research object is Ukrainian refugees, who are selected to study the reidentifying process which is a necessary element because of moving abroad and the necessity to define and mark themselves to Others. Considering the situation with refugees as an ethnomethodological case makes it possible to study the process of reidentifying national identity and to investigate the impact of such cultural factors as language, holidays, traditions, customs, national clothes and food, national symbols, knowledge and skills, related to traditional crafts, songs, acting, music, singing, dancing. It should be mentioned that the role of events held in support of Ukraine, social ties with relatives and friends who remained in Ukraine, and awareness of common enemies are also important. Research of the national identity of Ukrainian refugees in Germany has been based on unique survey data gathered in June 2022 using the Google Forms online survey tool. The invitation to participate in the survey was sent to groups of Ukrainian refugees in Telegram and Facebook social networks (Germany, June 2022, n=423). Survey questions were used to measure the components of national identity: constructive patriotism, civic citizenship, ethnic citizenship. We rely also on representative statistical data gathered by Ukrainian research centers and the UNHCR data portal. So, in conclusion it is seen that cultural factors help the process of reidentification of Ukrainian refugees.