The Transformation of Language and Nation in Wartime Ukraine

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

There are indications that the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine will have a transformational effect on language and national identities in Ukraine. The panel brings together four doctoral students (two as co-authors) and two scholars (also as co-authors) to bring a fresh perspective on these trends. Two papers will address the (perhaps radically) evolving situation with language. Anna Vozna and Alexandra Wishart, based on recent field work, will argue that the accelerating shift towards Ukrainian is best explained by a decolonial approach, rather than rational choice or the politics of language rights. Anastasia Lleshchyshyn will focus on the ability of the state, under extreme conditions, to navigate normative and internationally dominant practices vis-à-vis language minorities. Bertrand de Franqueville’s work is on the activist cohort with a more extreme conception of the nation, otherwise known as te far right, and their paradoxical relation to the state – challenging its monopoly of violence in civilian life, and upholding it in the military. Dominique Arel and Jesse Driscoll, building on ther book The Unnamed War, offer a reflection on the consequences for the cilivian population (largely Russian-speaking) of a recovery of territories controlled by Russia since 2014 (Crimea and Eastern Donbas), by examining through the comparative literature, four models of reintegration: forced displacement (ex. Karabakh 2023), national majority group supremacy (ex. Hong Kong), gradual assimilation (ex. Alsace-Lorraine), and territorial autonomy (which was the linchpin of the failed Minsk process).

Sub Unit

• Politics/Law

Chair

• Halyna Hryn, Harvard U

Papers

• The Ukrainian Far Right: Challenging the State in Civilian Life, Defending It in Wartime - Bertrand de Franqueville, U of Ottawa (Canada)

• Making Sense of the Accelerated Shift towards Ukrainian in Wartime Ukraine - Anna Vozna, U of Ottawa (Canada); Alexandra Wishart, U of Ottawa (Canada)

• Spoken Resistance: Language Policy in Wartime Ukraine - Anastasia Leshchyshyn, McGill U (Canada)

• Imagining Reintegration: Territorial Reunification of Crimea and Eastern Donbas - Dominique Arel, U of Ottawa (Canada); Jesse Driscoll, UC San Diego