The Discourse of Daily Life during the War: the 2022 Ukrainian Projection

Abstract

Aim. To define and describe the positions of Ukrainians in their attitude to the war on Russia and reflection of this attitude in the discourse of daily life in wartime. Concept/Methods. 25 transcripts of semi-structured interviews subjected to thematic analysis. Relying on the categories identified through thematic analysis, the criteria differentiating the attitude of Ukrainians to the war, viz. personalization/depersonalization, media practice of content consumption, assessment of the so called “we-they-relationship”, reflection on the changes in daily life, the process of adaptation to changes, ideas of exemplary behavior were established. Results and conclusion. The analysis of the results enabled to outline the problematic field of assessment of the attitude of Ukrainians to the full-scale war on Russia and reflection of this attitude in the discourse of daily life in wartime. Relying on the criteria differentiating this attitude, three typical positions in the attitude of Ukrainians to the war were outlined – that of external observer, optimistic fatalist, and rational optimist. Practical application. Clarification of the specific characteristics of the attitude of Ukrainians to the war and perception of the enemy under such circumstances enables to envisage the public opinion response to certain decisions related to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, to plan communication campaigns promoting volunteer movement with due account of different positions taken by Ukrainians as well as to determine the degree of psycho-traumatizing of individuals in the crisis situation of war via discourse. Originality/Cognitive value. The study was conducted in October-November 2022, on the ninth month of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, and it reflects the thoughts of Ukrainian civilians concerning the war, its reasons, collective responsibility of Russians, and, finally, changes occurring in the life of the country and every individual, the process of adaptation to this complex situation. The use of quality methods (semi-structured interview) for the study ensured focusing on subjective peculiarities of the perception of war and daily life during in wartime. Conclusions: The typology of ideas, types of attitude of Ukrainians to the reality of war requires verification and further specification within a quantitative study aimed at clarification of quantitative figures representing the prevalence of the established positions.